Poikien Puhelin is Finland’s only free telephone helpline service aimed at boys and young men under 20. The aim of Manifesto’s work was to clarify Väestöliitto’s (the Family Federation of Finland) marketing message and to support its fundraising.
The gap between young men who can cope and those who cannot is rapidly widening. The number of young people without education or work has clearly increased over the last decade. Väestöliitto’s Poikien Puhelin has long carried out important work to prevent boys and young men from becoming isolated. The free helpline makes the boys feel better and increases awareness of issues which young people cannot receive help with elsewhere. The young people calling the service have experienced things such as violence, bullying and loneliness.
The Poikien Puhelin (Boys’ Phone) helpline receives a high number of calls, but is unable to answer all of them due to a lack of resources. For this reason, the Poikien Puhelin service does not take calls in July or over the Christmas holidays.
Manifesto was enthusiastic to develop and support Poikien Puhelin’s marketing communications and fundraising. Many young people are in danger of becoming isolated, and there is real concern for boys. Support from companies in particular is necessary to ensure that the Poikien Puhelin helpline can help more boys in the future.
The Poikien Puhelin helpline is currently in urgent need of donations. We particularly require support from corporate partners in order for the service to be able to continue to operate, to increase resources, and to extend the times at which the helpline is available. If your company would like to be involved in supporting important work, please contact Martina Wetzer-Karlsson (martina.wetzer-karlsson@vaestoliitto.fi). You can also donate on the vaestoliitto.fi website.