YouthNet and Get Connected join forces in anti-bullying campaign to support young people

by Zoë Bailie (she/her)

Deputy CEO/Chief Development Officer

Tuesday 18th November 2014

Following the closure of the BeatBullying Group, leading UK youth charities YouthNet and Get Connected are joining forces for an anti-bullying campaign to ensure children and young people know they have somewhere to find support.

Get Connected, proudly supported by Dixons Carphone, provides a free and confidential, multi-issue helpline for under 25s across six interactive channels, while YouthNet provide online advice, youth peer forums and signposting for a range of issues including bullying. Both charities are focussed on ensuring that children and young people affected by bullying, discrimination, harassment and anything related to these issues have a safe space to seek support.

Jessica Taplin, CEO at Get Connected, says: “Get Connected and YouthNet are committed to supporting children and young people and we will work together to ensure that all young people know where to go to access help and support.

The closure of Beat Bullying means less education on how to prevent and deal with bullying. At Get Connected, our trained volunteers help hundreds of children and young people every month by phone, text, email and web chat with whatever issue they are facing, from bullying and depression to self-harm. It’s crucial that young people have somewhere safe and reliable to turn to. Get Connected provides emotional support, helping young people navigate multiple issues before connecting them with the exact specialist support they need.”

Emma Thomas, Chief Executive at YouthNet, says: “When young people need help, very often the first place they go is online. It is vital that they have access to an anonymous, safe space where they can go for the advice and support they need – when they need it. We hope that by working with Get Connected, we can ensure that many more young people who are affected by bullying and other issues have somewhere to turn.”

Get Connected and YouthNet services are available every day of the year to provide emotional support, advice and signposting for under 25s. For more information visit www.getconnected.org.uk or www.thesite.org

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS: For more information or accompanying images please contact Catherine Sweet, Marketing & Communications Manager at Get Connected: 020 7009 2516 / [email protected]

Media contact for YouthNet: [email protected] or 07910 154673.

• Get Connected is the free, confidential & multi-issue national helpline service supporting vulnerable young people under 25 all over the UK. Last year 180,378 young people accessed our services. Get Connected is registered charity number 1081840 and depends entirely on voluntary donations. Get Connected is a key partner of Child Helpline International, a global network of 173 child helplines in 142 countries.
• Call FREE: 0808 808 4994 (1pm-11pm daily) / Text for FREE help 80849
  Email: [email protected] / Web chat: getconnected.org.uk (1pm-11pm daily)
  WebHelp 24/7: www.getconnected.org.uk
• YouthNet is the charity behind online guide to life, TheSite, which supports around 1 million 16-25 year olds in the UK each year. The UK’s first exclusively online charity, YouthNet creates digital solutions to ease young people’s isolation and to make their lives better.
• BeatBullying was designed to empower young people to lead anti-bullying campaigns in their schools and local communities and devised peer-to-peer prevention strategies focussed on education to combat the problem.