What it's all about

The big idea is to provide every incoming Fresher at Durham University with a Nightline keyring that they can keep throughout their University career.

Nightline is a confidential, anonymous support service for students at Durham. It provides 3 services: listening, information and sexual health supplies. We have been inspired by Nottingham Nightline who ran the keyring campaign last year and saw the number of calls and drop-ins increase by 100%. There may be times at university when life can be hard, and maybe you just want to talk to someone impartial who won't judge or pass on what you say. But what if you don't know that a service like that exists, every night of term? There are 3 main reasons we think this campaign would make an invaluable impact on student welfare:

1. The keyrings would improve student WELFARE. THey could make the difference between suffering in silence and voicing a problem. It is a daily reminder that whatever you are going through, there is somebody who will be there to listen and understand.

2. The keyrings would improve student SAFETY. For example, a female student finds herself out late and her friends have left the club. Instead of walking home alone, she will have her keyring on her and can call Nightline for a taxi number. She can even wait at the Nightline office in safety until the taxi arrives.

3. The keyrings would remove the STIGMA of ringing a helpline. By having the number on everyone's keyrings, it is more accessible and people may not feel quite as intimidated by the prosepct of calling or dropping in.

For Nightline, the biggest tragedy would be for a student to be distressed or feeling like they have nobody to turn to, without knowing that Nightline exists for them. The keyrings would be a brand new, long-term campaign to avoid this from ever happening.

What's needed to make it a reality