Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Kids Help Phone. This non-profit service was started by the Canadian Children's Foundation back in 1989. Since then Kids Help Phone, which offers 24-hour bilingual counselling service to troubled youth, has grown tremendously. Kids Help Phone receives over 3,000 calls a day from frightened, lonely and often abused children.
Just last month Kids Help Phone received an astonishing 2,041 calls from troubled youth in my home town of Hamilton. Unfortunately, however, Kids Help Phone only has enough staff and telephone lines to handle about one-quarter of the calls. Who knows what kind of a crisis each one of those unaddressed calls for help might entail on a daily basis?
Although Kids Help Phone does not solicit government funding, I call upon my colleagues in the House to lend their support and raise awareness of the Kids Help Phone line 1-800-668-6868. After all, helping a young person in trouble can make a difference that will last a lifetime.