Don’t Write Off a Generation

LONDON, August 30, 2011 -

August’s riots forced Get Connected’s free helpline service for children and young people under 25 in the UK to close temporarily. Yet Get Connected’s 118 volunteers remain resolute in their determination to ensure Britain’s young people get the support they need in this, their hour of greatest need. www.getconnected.org

Get Connected is the free, confidential, completely independent helpline service for children and young people under 25 in the UK, who need help but don’t know where to turn. Last year alone, Get Connected helped 18,700 young people (50 people Every Day) with a wide range of important issues such as: Abuse, Bereavement, Bullying, Depression, Disability, Drugs, Eating Disorders, Emotional Problems, Family Relationships, Homelessness, Mental Health, Pregnancy, Rape, Self-harm, Sexuality, Suicide and Violence.

As courts across the country sat around the clock to hear the 1600+ cases brought before them, it became apparent that while there were clearly examples of lawless opportunism, there were also numerous underlying reasons for the violence and chaos that swept across the country.  Get Connected CEO, Fiona Clark, said:

Get Connected’s helpline service is now open again, offering help to under 25s with any problem via phone, email, text, Webchat and WebHelp 24/7 - its online directory, every day of the year. Calls are free of charge from landlines and mobile phones. Get Connected Helpline Volunteers don’t judge and they don’t tell. At the same time, three children’s support organisations are closing every week and Get Connected is very concerned that communities are turning their backs on children and young people as a result of August’s events.

With record levels of homelessness and unemployment increasing among young people, Get Connected is uniquely placed to identify issues as well as gaps in service and to raise awareness of the growing crisis facing young people. The charity observes that leading by example, supporting and empowering young people to make positive choices, can help them achieve incredible things:

• British-born Mike Perham completed a solo Atlantic crossing sailing at the age of 14 in 2009
• Eleanor Simmonds was the youngest British athlete at the age of 13 to compete in China’s Paralympics 2008, winning gold medals in the 100m and 400m freestyle
• Thiago Olson built a nuclear fusion reactor in his home in the USA at the age of 17 in 2006
• Fraser Doherty from Scotland became a millionaire in the jam business at the age of 14 in 2002 and now has 10% of the UK market
• Mohamed Altoumaimi from Iraq solved the Bernoulli numbers problem at the age of 16 in 2009 - a formula had puzzled the greatest mathematicians for 300 years.

Get Connected believes we must not write off a whole generation based on the unacceptable behaviour of a few. They argue the social cost of ignoring young people’s issues will haunt us long after the events of August’s riots have been forgotten.

For more information, exclusive interviews and images, please contact:
Sophie.Munro-Faure@jdi.co.uk or call +44(0)20-8563-1414

Get Connected Helpline. Registered Charity Number: 1081840.Head Office:
PO Box 51719, London, NW1 5UH www.getconnected.org

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