Living away from home?

We provide a special helpline called The Line for any young person living away from home. This is the helpline for you if you live in a foster home or a children's home, if you're at boarding school or you've been in hospital for a long time. You can call The Line on 0800 88 44 44 from 3.30pm to 9.30pm on weekdays and 2pm to 8pm at weekends.

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Are you deaf or find using a regular phone difficult?

Then try our Textphone service which provides confidential support and advice via a textphone. You can call on 0800 400 222 and it's open from 9.30am to 9.30pm on weekdays and 9.30am to 8pm at weekends.
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What can I contact ChildLine about?

Children and young people phone and write to ChildLine about anything - no problem is too big or too small. Some of the things children phone about are feeling lonely or unloved, worries about their future, problems about school, bullying, drugs, pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, physical and sexual abuse, running away and concerns about parents, brothers, sisters and friends.
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How can ChildLine help me?

When you phone ChildLine you will be able to talk to a counsellor - someone who will listen to you and help you find ways of sorting out your problems and worries. If you want, the counsellor can put you in touch with other people who can also help you.
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Can I write to ChildLine instead?

Yes, if you prefer you can write to ChildLine and one of our counsellors will reply to your letter. You can write to: ChildLine, Freepost 1111, London E1 6GL - and you don't have to use a stamp.
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Can I trust ChildLine?

ChildLine is confidential - that means that whatever you say is just between you and ChildLine, unless you want us to talk to somebody for you or you are in great danger.
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Do I have to give my name?

No, not if you don't want to.
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How do I make a call to ChildLine?

You can call from any telephone, including phone boxes and mobiles. Simply pick up the phone and dial 0800 1111. The lines are very busy, so if you can't get through at first, do keep trying (sometimes it helps if you keep pressing redial).

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Unless you dial another number after calling ChildLine, the next person who uses the phone could find out who you called by pressing the redial button. So, just dial a different number before you put the phone down.
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Will my call be on the phone bill?

Because ChildLine is an 0800 number, calls are free and don't show up on a BT or cable phone bill. Calls also don't show up on the bill for the following mobile phone networks: BT Cellnet, One2One, Virgin and Vodaphone. However, calls from other mobile phones may show up. If you are worried about this, try and call from a phonebox.
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Is it free to call from mobile phones?

Calls from the following networks are free: BT Cellnet, One2One, Virgin and Vodaphone. If you call from other networks you may be charged at a local rate.