Pat's Answer

Hi there, and welcome to Ask Pat. 

We think you mean that you don’t feel safe in your home and we are sorry to hear that. It sounds like this is a very difficult time for you, and here at Ask Pat we understand how scary it can be to not feel safe. You have the right to feel safe in your home and you have the right to be happy. If you are ever in immediate danger or harm, you can contact emergency services on  999 or 112  from any mobile or landline, free of charge.    

Have you thought about sharing how you don’t feel unsafe in your home with a trusted adult in your life, perhaps a parent, grandparent, aunt/uncle, teacher or someone you feel comfortable talking to? You can also contact Túsla – the Child and Family Agency. Their job is to make sure all children and young people in Ireland are safe and looked after. You can find more information about how Túsla can help you on the Changing Futures website. This was created for young people by young people with experience of Túsla services: https://changingfutures.ie/  You will see how to get in touch with Túsla here: https://changingfutures.ie/contact – you may need the help of an adult to do this. .  

If you do not feel comfortable having this conversation with the adults in your life or Túsla right now, remember that you don’t have to go through this alone. Childline is here for you through phone, text or online chat, and we would love to give you a safe space to talk about what is going on for you.  You can contact us 24hrs, 7 days a week.  All the services are confidential and non-judgmental. Our contact details are phone: 1800 66 66 66, text: 50101, or web chat that you access through this website: www.childline.ie  

There are some articles on the Childline website which may also help you with the problems you are facing at the moment:  

https://www.childline.ie/what-is-abuse/; https://www.childline.ie/getting-help/; https://www.childline.ie/home-and-families/  

We think you a very brave for reaching out to us as we understand that it was probably not an easy thing for you to do. We hope you found this information helpful and please get in touch if you have any other questions. 

Take care, 

Ask Pat