What to Expect From Us:

• We're here to listen, support and moderate discussion
• We won't give advice (you know what’s best for you!)
• We're a short-term service to help you through a tough time
• We're here to help you identify supports in your life, and to guide you as you build long-term strategies for dealing with stress and problems
• We will delete threads after they have been up for 3 months

Youth One Do's & Don't

Do

• Feel welcome and know that this is a community here to support you
• Post on other people’s threads to help support them
• Express yourself honestly
• Be supportive of people you communicate with on Youth One

Don't

• Be negative or sarcastic to other people
• Swear at others, or use abusive language directed at others
• Give out your personal information, or ask for someone else's information
• Take away from Youth One's supportive environment

TERMS OF USE & GROUND RULES: KEEP YOUR EYES WIDE & READ ON!!

Welcome to Youth One, we are glad that you stopped in! Youth One is a place where young people can give and receive support from each other. All opinions are welcome. Differences are what make this area of Youth One interesting. Before you check out the website, please read through our terms of use. This is required to make sure that we are all using Youth One appropriately and getting the most we can out of it!

The rules are as easy as 1..2..3!

1. Express yourself but don't bash others

No one likes to read postings that put down someone else's opinions. Disagreeing with another person's opinion is fine, just do it without putting the person down or being negative towards them. We want you to express your feelings, but play nice. The Support Team will delete all negative responses or posts that take away from the positive environment of the forums.

2. Never give out personal information over the internet

There are so many awesome and supportive users on the Youth One website; it can be natural to form connections with users and want to talk further, outside of the forums. However, because internet predators can be a problem on forums and chat rooms it's important that you never ask for or give out any personal information for your own personal safety.

Please do not ask for or give out personal information. This can include: - last name, address, MSN name, MSN address, email address, phone number, or pieces of information that could easily identify you or anyone else in your post.

The Support Team will erase personal information because its presence can be unsafe. We are not trying to be mean; we are only looking out for your safety.

Youth One does not have the capability to trace users, however if we are concerned that a user is in immediate danger, or is going to put a person in immediate danger, we are required by law to contact the police.

We also ask that you do not 'spam' our site with copy/paste posts off of other websites.

3. Use the support available to help yourself

You should expect a confidential, non-judgmental online community that provides an open ear, support, and referrals for people experiencing difficulty in their lives. Help is also provided for people who are thinking of suicide, or who are living in families where there is abuse. People who respond to you will include other users of Youth One, and The Support Team. Anything that is causing you distress is fair game on Y1, feel free to talk about it.

When other users post on forums they are providing peer support. Peer support is an important part of Y1 because getting ideas and support from the other site users can be a great way to start taking steps towards managing whatever crisis you are dealing with in your life. The Support Team is a group of trained volunteers who want to help people in distress. They are not counselors, so they cannot give you advice, or long-term support. However, they can help to connect you to your individual long-term supports, whatever they may be. They are trained in helping during times of crisis. Youth One is here to listen during those moments of distress, and help you to realize ways that you can cope on your own. Because of the short term nature of crisis services, please be aware that the Support Team deletes all threads over three months old. This is not to push you away; this is because we believe that people have the strength to help themselves, and we believe that Crisis Chat, and the forums can be best used as a temporary stepping-stone that guides you to remember the strength in yourself.

If there are any questions about the Crisis Chat or Peer Support Forums, contact the Crisis Chat/Peer Support Coordinator at youthone@thesupportnetwork.com.