Thanks for your letter and well done for getting in touch. I can hear how worried you are about your friend. Its wrong of anyone to hit another person and everyone has a right to things like food. It sounds like your friend is finding it hard to open up about whats happening at home and its great that she could trust you about the difficult things that are happening in her life.
It can be really hard to hear that someone you care about is going through something so tough. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to be there to listen. You could tell her that she has a right to be safe and happy at home.
You said that you want to help and youre wondering who to tell. If youre really worried about your friends safety you might want to think about telling an adult who you trust. This could be a family member or a teacher. If that adult would like to tell someone then they can contact the NSPCC helpline for free.
You should think about how your friend could react to this and how it might affect your friendship. Only you can know what feels like the best thing to do next. It might be an idea to talk this over with your friend and ask her what she would like you to do, letting her know that you are worried and that you feel you should tell someone if she is not able to tell someone herself.
ChildLine is a safe place for your friend to come and talk about what is happening for her. We can support her with how she feels and also help her to think about what options she might have. You might want to tell her about our confidentiality policy so she knows what we can keep between her and us. You could also send her the link to our pages on physical abuse and neglect as well. That way she could get a better idea of ChildLine and what we might be able to do to support her.
The counsellors at ChildLine are also here to support you with your own feelings around whats happening. You sound like a really good and supportive friend, sometimes it can be really hard to hold on to lots of difficult things all by yourself. ChildLine is always here for you. You can talk to a counsellor by having a 1-2-1 chat or by calling for free even from a mobile on 0800 1111.
I hope some of this helps.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.
