Helpline struggles to survive

Children's helpline What's Up is on the brink of closure and can't answer most of its calls, but its director is rejecting a rival helpline's offer to work together.

What's Up provides counselling to youth who are worried about their relationships or health. Last year, the helpline answered only 28 per cent of the 520,000 calls it received.

There are an estimated 120 helplines in New Zealand for everything from phobias to incontinence.

The average What's Up caller is 13 years old, and 40 per cent of the callers are under 12. Most want to talk about peer problems. Some want to hear advice about bullying, loneliness, pregnancy, grief and physical abuse.

What's Up director Grant Taylor said it was "not ideal" that more than two-thirds of the calls went unanswered, leaving kids to seek help elsewhere - or nowhere.

But he said a lack of funding meant What's Up couldn't employ enough staff to answer the phones.

"The future of What's Up is very much in the balance ... We don't regard our current situation as being sustainable."

Since the helpline began in 2001, Taylor says the popularity of the service has spread by word of mouth.

What's Up relies on public donations for 75 per cent of its income. But previous corporate sponsorship agreements have dried up, and it cannot afford to fill vacant positions.

Youthline chief executive Stephen Bell wants to create a joint helpline which uses high school mentors, senior counsellors and clinical staff. But that vision isn't shared by What's Up, which only employs paid adult counsellors.