Pop star Cheryl is the new face of Childline
As the charity Childline celebrates its 30th birthday, it is unveiling pop star Cheryl Fernandez-Versini as its new campaigner.
Cheryl will focus on encouraging teenagers going through any difficult feelings to reach out for support rather than suffer in silence.
In her new role, the 33-year-old is sending a message to young people who are struggling to cope with the 24/7 pressures and demands of modern life, that they are not alone and there is help at hand.
The star's involvement comes as new Childline figures show a 22% increase over the last three years in counselling sessions for girls aged 12-18 who are suffering from mental health and wellbeing issues. such as low self-esteem, depression and self-harm.
A greater worry is that 8,508 of these counselling sessions were carried out for teenage girls with suicidal feelings, a 28% increase over the same three-year period.
To mark Cheryl’s launch as a Childline Campaigner she has filmed an emotive video for the charity that sees her voice replaced by young people talking about deeply personal problems.
One boy is explaining how he is gay but is too frightened to tell his dad, while a teenage girl talks about being sexually abused at home.
Childline has a 24-hour helpline on 0800 1111
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