Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to an incredibly important resource for some of our most vulnerable young kids, and that is of course the Kids Helpline. This is a service offered by the charity yourtown, which has been providing vital services for young people across Australia since 1961. It is focused on mental health and wellbeing, long-term unemployment, the prevention of youth suicide, child protection and support for those experiencing domestic and family violence. For over 30 years, yourtown has been providing its free professional counselling and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for children and young people aged five to 25. Kids Helpline is a critical safety net for young people needing mental health support and is often the only service available after hours for those living in rural and remote areas. It provides professional, free counselling support that ensures equality for all children and young people, regardless of their location or circumstances. In the 2021-22 financial year, Kids Helpline was contacted by over 443,000 children and young people from across Australia. Millions more use resources and content across its multiple channels, including the great Kids Helpline website.

One of the young people using the website was Georgia, aged 13, who went through a tough time when her parents divorced. Georgia said:

My parents divorced and it changed my life, and not for the better. I was forced to stay at my dad's house. He was never there. It hurt because he just couldn't be bothered with me. I failed nearly all my assessment pieces, all I felt was stress, stress, stress!

Finally, Georgia found the Kids Helpline website. She said:

… I realised that I'm not the only person suffering. I realised that there are people out there willing to help me. Thanks to Kids Helpline, I'm smiling heaps more than I used to!

Or take the story of Caitlyn, aged 15, who recounts being diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder:

Many more months and attempts on my life later, I was at my lowest point. This is when I made a more serious attempt on my life, which was traumatic for everyone involved.

But therapy and friends and family assisted her recovery. She said:

Even though I am still struggling a lot with my feelings and thoughts, I wanted to say that, no matter what you are going through you deserve help, you deserve love and you're worth it.

Angus, aged 20, used the helpline when he was 16, after fighting with his parents all the time. He felt that they wouldn't listen to him, and one day he came home to find his belongings at the door and the door locked. He struggled to find a place to stay, and his grades at school slipped. Angus later said:

I talked to a really nice counsellor from Kids Helpline who supported me when things were really bad. I've also been able to work things out with my parents and we get along much better now. We still live apart but it's much better than it was.

These brave young people are only three of the millions helped by Kids Helpline and its website. This is an essential service that was strained by the lockdowns we had during the pandemic. For the first time in its over-30-year history, more than 50 per cent of callers now require counselling. Regrettably, demand is now so high that it exceeds capacity. I think all members would agree that Kids Helpline is a vital service that we should all support in this place. I'm proud that the Commonwealth government funds yourtown to deliver Kids Helpline.

I've got young children, like many people in this place. We hate to think of them being unsupported. They are our future. Today's world is so complex and complicated for them. It's great that there is a service, Kids Helpline, that they can reach out to. It might be not our kids; it might be some of our kids' friends, it could be anyone—any young Australian that is in need of this support, and I'm glad that it's there when our young Australians need it.

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