BACKGROUND: What is TheSite.org?
TheSite.org aims to be the first place all 16-24 year olds turn to when they need support and guidance through life. We provide an extensive collection of fact sheets and articles on key issues facing young people including: sex and relationships; health and wellbeing; drink and drugs; home, law and money; work and study; travel and free time. Our editorial integrity and approach to communicating with young people means our content is trusted and respected by the audience. TheSite.org tells it like it is.
TheSite.org is an inclusive online environment enabling more young people to speak their minds and discuss their problems. Alongside factual information is a dynamic community area including discussion boards and a ‘real life’ section where TheSite.org’s users can get involved and discuss the issues that matter most. Every month over 400,000 people regularly visit and use TheSite.org.
A public archive of just under 800 answered questions is continually developing on askTheSite, creating an online resource that young people can access and share. In addition, with over 20,000 users in 2008, the discussion boards in TheSite.org’s community section provide young people with the means to ask each other questions, share concerns and support each other online in a safe, moderated environment.
Founded by broadcaster Martyn Lewis CBE in 1995, YouthNet is the first exclusively online charity in the UK and manages TheSite.org as one of its services. YouthNet’s fundamental aim is to be a trusted source of information for all young adults, enabling them to make educated life choices, participate in society and achieve their ambitions.
Introducing askTheSite
askTheSite is a service enabling young people in the UK to receive fast, confidential, expert answers to their questions over the internet. Integrated into TheSite.org, this service offers young people the opportunity to submit questions to expert organisations/individuals about the issues that concern them.
All the answers are prepared by trained professionals, who provide factual, unbiased information and support and, where appropriate, signpost enquirers to additional sources of information and support. askTheSite answers all the questions it receives across a range of seven different subjects within three working days. These subjects include: general health, sexual health, mental health, housing, legal and rights, money, drugs and alcohol, careers and study and relationships.
askTheSite is a working partnership bringing together services from a range of expert organisations and freelancers, including Samaritans, Brook , SANELINE, bss, Citizens Advice Bureaux (CABx), Addaction and Shelter. A team of freelance relationship advisors deals with relationships questions submitted to askTheSite.
Where you come in
TheSite.org’s work repeatedly demonstrates how much young people appreciate being able to share information in a supportive and constructive way with their peers. In 2005, we extended the peer-to-peer support we provide to young people at askTheSite, by introducing a pilot project to train volunteers aged 18-29 years old, to work as online peer advisors. The role as an online peer advisor is to assist with answering the many questions that young people send into askTheSite’s relationship section.
What kind of questions does askTheSite receive?
In the relationships section of askTheSite, we receive all kinds of questions. From issues to do with love relationships and sexual relationships, right through to friend and family relationships. Within this, we receive questions that touch on everyday difficulties like: ‘how can I make new friends?’, ‘does he/she fancy me?’ and ‘should I ask my work mate out?’
But we also receive questions that involve more difficult issues such as abuse or ill treatment in relationships. For example: ‘was I right to leave my abusive partner?’, ‘how should I cope with the death of my girlfriend?’ and ‘should she give her baby away?’ Each question is taken as seriously as the next. Every question is answered.
To get more of an idea of the questions that we receive from young people across the UK, see the full selection of askTheSite’s relationships questions in the public archive here.
How does this online peer advisor project work?
To become a peer advisor you will need to take part in our training programme.
Training involves coming along to three Saturdays of interactive workshops:
- Session One: We introduce you to YouthNet and askTheSite. We look at the three basic skill areas for working as an online peer advisor (emotional support, communicating effectively and offering options).
- Session Two: We look at the role of research and specific research tools that we use to answer questions. We also look at the different kinds of kinds of boundaries of the peer advisor role (ethical, legal, and service remit)
- Session Three: In this final session we look at the kinds of relationships questions that users ask. We look at different strategies that you can use to answer all kinds of relationships issues. We also run through how questions are answered on askTheSite and how online peer advisors fit in.
Online training
We are currently experimenting with online training. You can follow all the training materials online and carry out the necessary activities. If you're interested in doing this, and helping us develop this by giving us feedback on how to improve this let me know and we'll send you more information.
How long does it take to become an online peer advisor on askTheSite?
It usually takes between four-eight weeks between attending the first training session to answering your first live question on askTheSite. For information about the overall process of becoming a peer advisor (click here).
Yahoo Answers
If you feel that you can't commit to the full three weeks training program, would like a volunteer role that is less commitment or would just like to get going with answering questions while you are waiting for the next training to start, you can get involved with our Yahoo Answers project. TheSite.org is a knowledge partner on the Family and Relationships section of Yahoo Answers. We answer 20 or more questions from this section per month in return for being featured las an expert. It is a great way to spread the word about askTheSite and TheSite.org and to help more people benefit from the advice we give. If you are interested in getting involved in this right now, have a look at the information here.
Where will I be volunteering? 
As a peer advisor with askTheSite, you will be working online in a location where you can access the internet, preferably somewhere you can ensure discretion and confidentiality such as your home, place of work or study.
You will need to be living in or around Greater London so that you are within easy travelling distance of YouthNet to attend training. We are based near Old Street tube station and will expect you to attend regular training in groups and one-to-one support sessions at our offices. Beyond these limitations, as a fully online project, with askTheSite you get to choose where you volunteer!
How much time will volunteering as a peer advisor involve on a week-to-week basis?
On average during training and once trained, you’ll do around 4-5 hours a week as an online peer advisor.
When and at what times you volunteer as a peer advisor is flexible- that’s the beauty of volunteering online. However, you’ll need to make sure that you can attend the group training sessions which take place over three Saturdays 10am-4pm with each day of training covering a different level.
What will I be doing?
Research
Researching plays a huge part in the work we do. The answers to the questions we receive include next steps for the young person asking. As a result, we are constantly researching into new information and advice services in the UK. This ensures that our information is up-to-date and that the askers can be given a good range of next steps.
Web Journalism
Web journalism runs through the work of the peer advisor: you will be helping with editing and proof reading answers already written and waiting to be made available to the askers. You will also be double-checking facts and in some cases adding links into answers, so that the young people submitting questions to askTheSite have the benefit from the information we research and really do have a good range of next steps to choose from.
Relationship Advice
It is crucial that you are able to provide relationships advice across as broad a range of issues as possible. One question might be someone asking about how to break up with their boyfriend, the next may be someone questioning their sexuality, and a third may be about making friends at a new school. Relationships advice covers a lot of topics that you will gradually learn about through discussion and investigation. The best way to get a good feel of the types of issues that come up in relationships questions submitted to askTheSite is to look at the Q&As on TheSite.org. Also helpful is our ‘relationships’ section on TheSite.org.