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To Sam

Accounts for people not in the UK

Alot of the time I need help on Childline, I'd like to share my stories...I have alot of helpful ones...but unfortunately I live in the U.S. What do I do? I can't make an account if I'm not in the UK, trust me, I've tried. What I think Childline should do to improve is just like make free accounts somewhat like this, for example:

Username: Demo_Girl1

Password: examplepassword1

Ya know, and just make four or five accounts for kids in the U.S....post the pass and username....we can share the accounts, but we need them really bad. I have a big problem but can't post...

-Stuck in the U.S.A.

Ask Sam

Sam

Hi there,

I often get letters from people who don’t live in the UK and I know that others feel the same way you do. ChildLine is known worldwide which means sometimes people from abroad want to talk to our counsellors and use our website.

ChildLine is a UK charity and people donate money expecting that to go towards helping children in this country. This means we have to make sure that we use our counsellors to talk to people who live in the UK, as that is what people have donated their money for.

ChildLine cares about all young people – no matter what country they come from. Whilst we can’t help non-UK children directly, the way that we can help people from abroad is to work with helplines from around the world and share our experience. This means that similar services can be set up in your own country.

Not all parts of the website are just for UK children – people from abroad can still read information, play the games we have and also send letters to me. I am happy to answer letters from abroad because the problems young people face in other countries are often the same as people in the UK, and reading my advice to one person can help lots of others too.

I can only answer a handful of the hundreds of letters I receive each week and I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to answer a message sent to me. If you definitely need support I would suggest you find a similar service to ChildLine in your own country.

Take a look at Child Helpline International who have a list of helplines. As you’re in the United States I would recommend you call Childhelp if you need support.

I hope that helps you understand why ChildLine works the way we do and that you can get the support you need from a helpline near you.

Take care,
Sam

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