What help is out there?

You are not alone as you recover from your bushfire experience. We understand that your life has been changed by the bushfires and that sometimes you might need a hand to cope with how you feel. Some people will just need a bit of help from friends for a while, while other people might need a bit more help from the services around them.  Either way, it is important to get help when you need it.

There are lots of different types of help available and by asking around you can find something that suits you. Here are a few suggestions about where you might start.

If you are studying a good place to start is to visit your school or uni/tafe welfare team. They can help with you practical things, like planning your study, or they can put you in touch with a youth worker or counsellor that you can talk to about how you are feeling.

Your local community health centre or council youth services will also be able to help in lots of different ways. They generally offer lots of practical help, while also offering personal counselling when you need it.  Your local council will probably have information on their website about what youth services they offer and how to contact them.

The other person to think about asking for help is your local doctor. Doctors know a lot about health and wellbeing, so a chat to them might also be really useful.

If none of these sound like you, you might want to try kidshelpline. It is a free and confidential phone service available 24hrs/day.

We know that talking to someone about how you are feeling can sometimes feel a bit strange at first, but this does not last long.  Usually people find that in fact, talking to someone they trust can really help them to see a different way of looking at things, and perhaps, some new ways of approaching a problem. Talking about a problem is not a 'quick fix' but it can lead to a big improvement in how you feel so you might want to give it a go.

To learn more about what services are available in your local area click here.

For more ideas about finding help and what it is like to get help click here.