We’d like to introduce you to Tel-jeunes, a help service hotline for teenagers, and LigneParents, a service providing professional help and support to parents. Both are accessible to Francophones across Canada, free of charge at any time.

Tel-jeunes

Tel-jeunes has been a beacon for teenagers since the service was introduced in 1991. By phone, internet, or text, teenagers can be listened to, supported, and informed on subjects that concern them, at any time, day or night.

• be in contact with a dedicated and experienced professional through one of several communication platforms;
• be listened to and heard, regardless of the problem that they may have;
• obtain accurate and relevant information on topics of interest;
• be supported in their choices.
   

According to Fondation Tel-jeunes, some 35,000 young people have contacted the service over the past year, for a variety of reasons. For example, they have wanted to talk about :

• their distress as victims of violence, bullying, or harassment;
• their anxiety, loneliness, or mental health issues;
• their sexuality;
• their concerns about the changes that come with puberty;
• their heartbreaks and hopes in romantic relationships and friendships;
• their suicidal thoughts, or their fear that a friend will commit suicide.
   

The main message from Tel-jeunes is that we all need help at one time or another in our lives, and that no problem is too big or too small to contact them. Teenagers can contact them to talk about anything... love, sexuality, well-being, friends and family, drugs and alcohol, technology, etc. In addition, support is offered with complete confidentiality, and the young person doesn't need to mention their real name.

Using state-of-the-art technologies to reach teenagers, Tel-jeunes has just unveiled its new website.

Here are the different ways for young people to get information and support :
Website : www.teljeunes.com
Téléphone toll-free anywhere in Canada: 1-800-263-2266
Text : 514-600-1002
Internet chat – available between 5:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time:
www.teljeunes.com/Tel-jeunes/Ecris-nous

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LigneParents

LigneParents is a free, confidential, and anonymous support and assistance hotline, accessible day and night, provided by professional counsellors to parents of children aged 0 to 20.

Although initially designed for residents of Quebec, its services, like Tel-jeunes, are available to Francophones across Canada.

Through LigneParents, parents will find :

• timely support for the resolution of their problems;
• answers to their questions;
• valuable assistance in crisis situations.

For thirty years, the mission of LigneParents has been to assist adults in their role as parents, so that they never feel alone. This resource follows the philosophy that there’s no such thing as the perfect parenting guide!

Without making judgments, the professional counsellors at LigneParents adapt to fathers’ and mothers’ realities to support them in any situation. Parents are often beset by powerlessness or guilt. With the help of the counsellors, they can reflect on how to regain confidence in their role as a parent.

Recognizing that every situation is unique, the counsellors at LigneParents consider that each parent is the expert on their own child. Therefore, LigneParents doesn’t try to provide any magic tricks for parents, but rather tries to support and guide them, taking into account their realities and needs here and now.

What’s more, the ligneparents.com website contains a wide range of articles that will interest parents, divided into categories for children and adolescents. Topics covered include subjects like cyber-dependency in young people, romantic relationships in adolescence, and guidance and communication about drugs and alcohol. To stay up to date about new resources added to the website, as well as other available resources and references, follow the LigneParents Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Ligneparents.

Here are the ways to access LigneParents :
Téléphone toll-free anywhere in Canada: 1-800-361-5085
Internet chat (except between 7:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.) : a window pops up on ligneparents.com when a counsellor is available. If the window does not appear, it’s because all the counsellors are already occupied with parents. In this case, a parent just needs to return to the website a little later.