• Youthline urgently calls on the Government to prioritise youth mental health in the Budget
• In March this year alone, Youthline Auckland is reporting a massive 246% spike in access to its youth therapy services, compared to the year prior
• The Youthline 24/7 National Helpline is increasingly becoming a crisis response line for young people experiencing significant mental health distress.

The youth mental health organisation Youthline is reporting a 50-year record high in demand for its services. It’s an alarming upward trend that shows no signs of abating and is in fact on the rise. The charity is making an urgent appeal to Government to prioritise and invest in youth mental health in the upcoming 2025 Budget.

Shae Ronald, CEO, Youthline, said the UNICEF Innocenti Report Card 19: Fragile Gains – Child Wellbeing at Risk in an Unpredictable World made sobering reading when it was released late last week. UNICEF’s latest report highlighted New Zealand as having some of the worst youth mental health outcomes among high-income countries.

“It's just further confirmation of what we are experiencing first-hand on the frontline of the youth mental health crisis. Our own Youthline State of the Generation 2023 reported increased levels of youth mental health distress since COVID 19 and this trend is reflected internationally.

“We strongly urge the Government to focus on young people and invest in helping them get the help they need. That includes prevention, early intervention and crisis support. It requires a collaborative, all community approach, with young people involved in shaping the solutions, at the centre.”

In March this year alone, Youthline Auckland experienced a 246% increase in counselling services being accessed compared to the year prior. In addition, one third of contacts to the national Helpline are now deemed high risk relating to suicide, self-harm or abuse. In the first quarter, Youthline experienced a 20% increase in high-risk contacts with a 24% increase in the number of contacts requiring external intervention, evidence of a further escalation in the severity of contacts being dealt with.

However, Youthline Auckland is budgeted to make a significant loss of over $600,000 in the next year (April 2025 – March 2026).

“The reality is that our services have never been more in demand, and ironically, we’re facing a big shortfall in our operational costs to keep delivering our services in the next year. We really appreciate the funding we receive from the Government, our partners and supporters that enables us to be there for young people when they need us most. We urgently need more funding to ensure we can keep being there for young people who are reaching out for help in record numbers,” Ronald concluded.

Liz Hosking-Clement, Clinical Improvement Lead, Youthline, says the 24/7 National Helpline is increasingly becoming a crisis response line.

“We’re seeing an unprecedented number of young people reach out for support, our reporting indicates a marked increase in the number of risk-related concerns being disclosed to our services, including risks of harm to self, harm to others, and harm from others,” she said.

In the first quarter of this year, there has been a steep increase in our external referrals for emergency or very high-risk situations, with increasing engagement required with Emergency services, Oranga Tamariki, and mental health crisis teams.

Hosking-Clement said the UNICEF report card around New Zealand’s youth mental health was disappointing but unsurprising.

“It just confirms what our front-line clinicians are seeing every day – young people feeling suicidal or self-harming, struggling with bullying, experiencing abuse, and struggling with their mental health. Our health sector has spent a lot of time and resources telling young people to reach out for support when they need it, so we need to make sure Youthline is here to deliver and meet the demand so that we can continue to do the critical mahi when it comes to supporting and keeping our young people and their whānau safe.

“Youthline is advocating for the Government to invest meaningfully in young people as the future of our country. Young people should be able to access support easily, without confusion or delay,” said Hosking-Clement. “This requires sustained investment in services that young people trust. Services like Youthline that are visible, youth-friendly, and equipped to respond when young people reach out.”

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