Media Advisory - What's hope got to do with it?

TORONTO, April 14 /CNW/ - Fostering hope is what the Kids Help Phone professional counsellors do every day. But supporting young people's mental health, well-being and sense of hope is a responsibility that we all share. With the publication of its Critical Issue Report, titled What's Hope Got To Do With It? Kids Help Phone explores the wellness needs, goals, and hopes for the present and the future of the young people that reach out to Canada's only national, 24-hour counselling service.

We help kids in Canada become "unstuck" by finding hope and exploring options when they feel they have nowhere else to turn. We want to help parents, caregivers and youth professionals do the same. That's why our new report also offers tips and practical suggestions on being hope-centric and "doing hope" with the young people in our lives.

Why we want to talk about hope and mental health
Hope is arguably the most influential of all emotions. It gets us through stressful times and supports recovery. If hopelessness is essentially hope without the belief that a goal or outcome is achievable, it raises the question: what are the goals that feel so out of reach for our young people? Kids Help Phone's analysis reveals that these fell into four broad domains:

1)     100% indicated a desire to feel better 'in my own skin' (well-being);
2)     80% wanted to be loved, respected, or listened to (esteem);
3)     48% wished to feel a sense of meaning, direction, or achievement (purpose and achievement);
4)     33% expressed a need to be safe or free from violence (safety).

Nurturing the well-being of young people requires the difficult and ongoing work of fostering hope. As the Walk for Kids Help Phone happens just in time to kick off National Child and Youth Mental Health Day, Kids Help Phone is making the What's Hope Got To Do With It? report available online at http://org.kidshelpphone.ca/en/media-centre/publications in order to contribute to the national dialogue on mental health and well-being.

What kids are telling us
"I was just wondering if you'd have any advice for me, as in, helping me deal with stress, because no matter how suicidal I get, I'm lucky that I get times where I realize that I really *don't* want to die, but it's hard to hold on to those times and I don't want to do something I would regret, because life's so amazing, and, I'm just glad I'm alive at this very moment in time. :D I'm proud of myself for that." - Real post from kidshelpphone.ca

What Kids Help Phone's experts are saying
"Everyone struggles sometimes, and at one point or another everyone needs help," says Lila Knighton, director of Knowledge Mobilization at Kids Help Phone. "Young people have an amazing amount of resiliency, even in times of uncertainty, instability, or stress. When they contact Kids Help Phone, it is a demonstration of hope - they believe that whatever the problem is, it can be solved."

"Every day I talk to kids who are facing all kinds of challenges. Some are struggling with the more normal issues of growing up. Others are facing what seem like hopeless situations," adds Duane, a professional counsellor at Kids Help Phone. "Their courage in reaching out is my biggest motivation to continue to empower and encourage them, and help them look at issues from different angles."

About Lila Knighton

Lila Knighton leads our team of researchers who compile clinical, evidence-based content that Kids Help Phone's counsellors and staff use to stay informed about current and emerging needs of youth in Canada. To date, Lila and her team have compiled and analysed research on over 50 topics that have been identified as relevant issues facing today's youth.

About Duane

Duane has been a full-time counsellor with Kids Help Phone since 2006. Previous to this, he worked as a program facilitator and counsellor at Braeburn Neighbourhood Place and the Boys and Girls Club. A great communicator and facilitator, Duane is known to use humour and sensitivity to establish great rapport with the young people who contact Kids Help Phone. He continues to reach out to kids through school tours and remains a trusted go-to resource for media.

About Kids Help Phone

Kids Help Phone is Canada's leading youth counselling service, moving kids from distress and isolation to confidence and competence. Available anytime of the day or night, in English and French, by phone and by web, it is the go-to resource for kids in Canada from five to 20 when they need help or trustworthy information on issues that are difficult to discuss with anyone else. Providing a service that is free, anonymous and confidential, Kids Help Phone is a respected charity, vitally dependent on individual donations and corporate support to remain available to kids looking for help; sometimes looking for a lifeline.

SOURCE: Kids Help Phone

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