Nettiturvis and youth shelters help young people and their families and loved ones in the summer

Red Cross Youth Shelters are there for young people throughout Finland during the summer. Young people and their family members and other loved ones can receive free of charge, long-time discussion support quickly via the Nettiturvis online service throughout the summer.

In addition to online help, youth shelters offer on-site discussion support for young people and their loves ones. They also offer crisis accommodation for young people in five wellbeing services counties. Some shelters are centralising their operations or are closed for some of the summer. You can find detailed information on the shelters' opening hours at the end of this article. 

"Many services are closed for the summer. But people still need help, maybe even more than normally, when their everyday routines are on a break. It's important that young people, their families and their other loved ones have a place where they can receive support quickly, even in the summer", says Isto Onali, Director of the West Uusimaa Youth Shelter and Nettiturvis.

Nettiturvis helps all around Finland

Nettiturvis will be open from Monday to Friday after the Midsummer weekend. The service offers discussion support for young people and their loved ones. Time slots are available from 90.. to 21.30. 

"Online help is accessible no matter where you live. Nettiturvis is available even if the local services are closed. Young people and their parents and other loved ones are equally welcome to contact Nettiturvis. So if you feel lonely, or there are more arguments in the family during the summer holiday, you can come chat with us," says Nettiturvis Online Help Specialist Saara Liikanen.

Nettiturvis workers have experience of helping young people and families. You can seek help for any reason.  At the moment, young people and families are dealing with issues such as problems in friendships and peer relationships, mental health challenges within families, and questions related to the breakdown of romantic relationships. You can book an appointment with Nettiturvis here.

Youth shelters offer discussion support and a safe place to sleep

Youth shelters will be available during their normal opening hours until Midsummer. The shelters offer services such as crisis support in acute situations, discussion support, and a safe place to spend the night temporarily during crisis situations.

"In sudden crises and other challenging situations, such as arguments with your family or other loved ones, we offer professional discussion support. There is no need to feel ashamed about needing help – it’s better to seek help at a low threshold. You can contact us even in the middle of the night if you need to," says Kirsti Viinikka, Director of the Helsinki Youth Shelter.  

You can contact a youth shelter by calling or sending a text message or email. You can see the shelters' contact information and opening hours here.

Youth shelters’ summer opening hours

The youth shelters are located in five municipalities and they serve the residents of five wellbeing services counties. There are some changes to the youth shelters' opening hours in the summer. All shelters will resume their normal opening hours on 3 August.

The youth shelters in the Helsinki region will centralise their activities in Helsinki Youth Shelter from 19 June to 14 July. The shelter is at the address Uudenmaankatu 32 A.

The shelter offers crisis and discussion support for young people and their families and other loved ones. Crisis accommodation is also available. The youth shelters in the Helsinki region, including Helsinki Youth Shelter, will be fully closed from 15 July to 2 August.

Contact information for the shelters:

• Helsinki Youth Shelter
  Uudenmaankatu 32 A, Helsinki
  Tel. +358 9 622 4322, WhatsApp +358 40 173 4149
• West Uusimaa Youth Shelter
  Läkkisepänkuja 2 A 14, Espoo
  tel. +358 50 339 0619
• Vantaa-Kerava Youth Shelter
  Rekola Estate, Sairaalakatu 3, Vantaa
  Tel. +358 9 871 4043, +358 50 339 5413

Discussion support is available at Pirkanmaa Youth Shelter from 18 June to 13 July and 27 July to 2 August, Mon–Fri 9.00–16.00. The crisis accommodation of the Pirkanmaa Youth Shelter is closed from 18 June to 3 August.  The shelter is fully closed 13–26 July, at which time discussion support will be unavailable.

• Pirkanmaa Youth Shelter
  Hämeenkatu 22 C, Tampere
  tel. + 358 40 556 6661

The Southwest Finland Youth Shelter is open 24 hours every day.

• Southwest Finland Youth Shelter
  Yliopistonkatu 24 A 15, Turku
  Tel. +358 2 253 9667, +358 40 660 8048