Krista Dean

Northernlife.ca
Date Published: Wednesday, April 4, 2012

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In 2010, Kids Help Phone estimates it had 225,622 counselling contacts with youth throughout Canada and assisted kids more than 4,300 times a week either by phone or web consultation.
The top three issues most important to kids in 2010 were mental health, peer issues and family concerns. Every day, Kids Help Phone receives calls from children throughout Sudbury who are bullied at school, struggling with family issues, or dealing with depression.
The Kids Help Phone team is made up of professional counsellors who are available day and night to speak with young people who are experiencing stress or are in need of someone to talk to. Counsellors have access to a community referral database in order to offer youth more options and organizations in their area. Kendra MacIsaac, northern Ontario co-ordinator of marketing and fund development, said kids of all ages can call for free and speak with a counsellor.
Kids Help Phone welcomes the community to take part in the Walk so Kids can Talk fundraising event, she added.
Kids Help Phone will kick off the event today at Boston Pizza at 7 p.m. to honour last year’s highest fundraising team, composed of Cambrian College's child and youth worker program staff and students.
They will be recognized with a plaque for their fundraising efforts.
The actual Walk so Kids can Talk event will take place on May 6, the first day of Children’s Mental Health Week. The walk will help raise funds so young people can continue to call the Kids Help Phone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, MacIssac said.
Everyone from the community is encouraged to join in the Walk so Kids can Talk event, MacIsaac said.
“The more the merrier,” she said. “We have entertainment for the whole family - it’s a fun, family friendly event, and it will go on rain or shine.”
The walk will take place downtown at the Bell Building at Tom Davies Square. It’s a five-km walk followed by a lunch sponsored by Boston Pizza. Registration is at 10 a.m. and the walk starts at 11 a.m.
Krista Dean is a second-year journalism student at Cambrian College