The kids aren't alright: OfficeMax leverages education network to raise awareness of vital 0800 What's Up helpline

New toolkit includes posters with QR codes, enabling free, instantaneous mental health support from trained counsellors

• Aotearoa has the highest rate of youth suicide in the OECD, and almost 1 in 5 young New Zealand children are living with an anxiety disorder and/or depression¹
• 12,680 calls and chats were answered by What’s Up counsellors in 2020²
• 131 young people required Duty of Care action to ensure the immediate safety of the caller

Auckland, New Zealand 29 July 2021 – OfficeMax, New Zealand’s workplace and education solutions provider, is leveraging its vast network of partner schools to drive awareness of Barnardos 0800 What’s Up, New Zealand’s child and youth counselling helpline and webchat service following a staggering 31% increase³ in chats on the previous year as young people grapple with an increasingly complex and varied range of issues.

Sponsors of New Zealand’s only child and teen counselling service 0800 What’s Up since 2014, OfficeMax has made the toolkit, which includes posters, web banners and other digital assets, available on its website and direct to almost 2,000 schools to help raise awareness of the service.

The new toolkit assets include a QR code that is designed to take students directly to the webchat page, connecting them with a qualified counsellor. The “scan for support” concept aims to cater to the increasing traffic on the helpline’s webchat function.

The free service, run by Barnardos, is the only child and youth helpline in New Zealand that employs trained counsellors. Available to offer ongoing support for tamariki and rangatahi, counsellors help callers to find their own solutions and build their problem-solving skills for the future.

OfficeMax has had almost five decades of experience in providing New Zealand schools with the resources needed to educate Kiwi children, however, Managing Director, Kevin Obern, says the company wants to use its resources and network to help bring attention to the plight of mental health facing our young people.

“OfficeMax already works closely with a vast network of education leaders and we want to make sure that this vital service can reach the young people who need it most. We know that awareness is a big part of that, so we’re doing what we can with this practical and easy-to-use toolkit for schools. If it contributes to one more young person reaching out for help, then it’s worth it,” says Kevin.

There is a youth mental health crisis in Aotearoa with ballooning wait times to access Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). Data from 0800 What’s Up shows that concerns around mental health, suicidal ideation and deliberate self-harm are among some of the hard-hitting reasons for children and young people contacting 0800 What’s Up via webchat.

“It’s really important that more children know that this service is here for them, as many of the calls especially for issues that relate to school, happen on Sunday nights or in the evenings when tamariki need someone to talk to right then and there,” says Jo Harrison, Barnardos General Manager Child and Family Services. “It’s encouraging to see that some schools are even arranging group calls to 0800 What’s Up, facilitated by the classroom teacher, to ask the counsellors questions and demonstrate to their students how easy it is to seek help via 0800 What’s Up.”

Perry Rush, President of the New Zealand Principals’ Federation says “While our teachers often play an emotional support role for pupils, and I’d consider it a core strength of New Zealand’s teacher workforce, their expertise is not counselling. Services like 0800 What’s Up are absolutely essential for connecting our young people to trained counsellors who can rapidly provide the necessary support.

 “We’ve seen the issues that some children are calling about and we’ll encourage our network of primary and secondary school leaders to use the posters and digital assets however they can,” says Perry.   

 To download the 0800 What’s Up Resources visit:
officemax.co.nz/whats-up-resources