Support We All Need Part of the CAQA group

Signposting

Knowing where to look is most of the problem

A plain signposting page for people trying to find support services, and for the people helping them look.

If you need help now

Call your local emergency number. In Australia that is triple zero. Established crisis lines operate in most countries, and a search for a crisis line in your country will reach one faster than this page can.

IWhat we do

Three things, done properly.

i

Where to look

Which kind of service handles which kind of problem, so you are not guessing.

ii

How to ask

What to expect from a first contact, which is the step most people find hardest.

iii

Helping someone else

What is useful to do, and what is usually not, when you are supporting somebody.

IIWhat this is not

Two things to be clear about.

Said plainly and up front, because somebody arriving here in difficulty should not have to work it out.

This is not a crisis service

Nobody monitors this site. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency number now.

This is not clinical advice

Nothing here is counselling, diagnosis or treatment, and it is not a substitute for talking to a qualified practitioner who knows your situation.

IIIUsing this page

Start with the kind of problem, not the name of a service.

Most people looking for help know what is wrong and not who handles it. Working out the category first is usually faster than searching for an organisation by name, and it avoids the common outcome of reaching the wrong service and giving up.

If you are helping someone else

Making the first contact alongside somebody, rather than for them, tends to work better. It keeps the decision theirs and means the service hears the situation directly.

About this page.

This is a signposting page published by the CAQA group. It is not a support service and nobody monitors it. If something here is wrong or out of date, we would rather know.