TEEN TOUCH is committed to building safer, healthier communities for our kids. Our goal is prevention—to be there before things get out of control and a crisis develops. That makes our program unique: any problem is a real problem (it doesn’t have to be a crisis in order to call us), and service is available to any young person anywhere in the province.

1. HELPLINE
   
   
   • The 24-hour Helpline is our core program. Staffed by well-trained volunteers, it’s a safe place to sort things out, find answers to troubling issues, and get solid referrals to community services.
   • Self-help is the focus of the TEEN TOUCH website. It’s a way for kids to help themselves. They can find useful answers to a variety of issues, learn about problem-solving, and follow links to other sites which we believe supplement what we offer.
   • Virtual Help is available. Here, callers can problem-solve privately on-line with Virtual Volunteers. It’s the Internet version of the telephone Helpline. E-mail help is available, and questions about sexual or psychological issues can be submitted to Dr. Anne or Dr. Bruce and the answers posted on the website.
   
   
   
2. OUT REACH
   This is our outreach program, which takes TEEN TOUCH into classrooms and communities.
   
   
   • a. To make it easier for kids to call us when they need to talk, our Speakers’ Bureau volunteers reach out to them in their schools, talking to students about youth issues and demonstrating our effective problem-solving model. Volunteers also talk with community groups, sharing what TEEN TOUCH knows about the issues concerning today’s youth.
   • b. TEEN TOUCH conducts periodic on-line surveys of youth opinion about important issues. For example, we helped Save the Children Canada and Healthy Child Manitoba conduct Manitoba-wide surveys through our website. Our annual province-wide essay contest gives young Manitobans a chance to tell us what they think about things.
   • c. Team Youth is our youth committee, whose goal is to network with young people across the province as well as bring youth and communities together to talk and find solutions to community problems.