Childline’s night-time service in Galway under threat

Childline has issued an appeal for funding to save its night-time call service operating out of Galway and other centres to ensure phones are answered round the clock.

Childline, which is funded almost exclusively by public donations, has announced that it will have to close its lines at night if it cannot raise €1.2m. The service is unable to answer one in three calls due to a lack of funding.

Childline West has 102 volunteers with an additional 21 volunteers currently in training across its Galway, Mayo and Limerick offices.

So far this year, these volunteers have clocked up 16,623 hours listening to children in the region.

“These are children in desperate need of support, children with no-one else to turn to, and children who just need someone to listen,” insisted Alex O’Keefe, regional manager of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC).

“In order for us to provide the same quantum of services that these volunteers provide the ISPCC would need to employ close to an additional eleven staff on a full time basis to meet this level of service.

“Childline receives 1,800 contacts per day. A child who calls Childline at 3am does not do so without good reason. Nobody wants any call for help to be met with an answering machine but without adequate funding that is the reality we are facing.”

For 15 of its last 26 years of operation, Childline has been available to children day and night, including a 24 hour service from its Galway based centre.

Galway volunteer Caroline Hoade recalled how she spoke with a teenage girl who revealed plans to kill herself.

“She had run away from home and said she felt unloved because her parents hadn’t contacted her to find out if she was safe. She said she just wanted the pain to go away,” said Caroline.

“By the end of the call, she had decided she would reach out to an adult she trusted and tell them how she was truly feeling. This call made me realise the immeasurable value of the Childline service in the lives of children.”

Donations to the campaign can be made online at savechildline24.ie, by phone at 1850 50 40 50 or simply text ‘Childline’ to 57911 to donate €4.