CHILDREN’S CHARITY CHILDLINE says that it may have to curtail night services due to a lack of funding.
The charity has issued an appeal for €1.2 million in funding to keep their 24-hour service open.
For 15 of its last 26 years of operation, Childline has been available to children on a 24-hour basis. Now the charity, which is funded almost exclusively by public donations, will have to close its lines at night if it cannot raise the money needed to maintain the service.
ISPCC Childline’s Director of Services, Caroline O’Sullivan, said that the phone lines handle 1,800 calls a day.
“Childline receives 1,800 contacts per day. A child who calls Childline at three in the morning 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.
“We have issued an emergency funding appeal as, for many children; Childline is the only support option available to them. If Childline cannot continue to provide a 24 hour service some children will be forced into silence. Childline is and wants to remain a service that gives children and young people a voice.”
The charity has made an emergency appeal that will run throughout November.
The appeal is being supported by a national promotional campaign.
Donations to the campaign can be made online at by phone at 1850 50 40 50 or simply text ‘Childline’ to 57911 to donate €4.
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