Youth Line - 24/7 Hotline

Provider Type: Hotline/Website

PHONE: Call 877-968-8491

TEXT ‘teen2teen’ to 839863

CHAT Online

Web Address: youth-line.org

Specialties: A free 24-hour crisis, support, and helpline for youth.

YouthLine is a peer-to-peer youth crisis and support service provided by Lines for Life—a non-profit dedicated to preventing substance abuse and suicide. YouthLine operates a national helpline that provides crisis support and referrals via call, text, and chat. The helpline is answered by youth daily from 4pm-10pm and by adults at all other times.

Anonymity and Confidentiality: While we do get information from caller ID, teens who reach out to the YouthLine are not required to give any identifying information. Teen volunteers on the lines are anonymous and use aliases. YouthLine is confidential to a point. While YouthLine will never share conversations had on the lines, we are mandatory reporters. If a young person is unable to agree to safety for themselves or another person, or if abuse is occurring, YouthLine contacts other agencies to ensure the best support and safety for the young person in crisis. Only supervisors make calls to Child Protective Services and Emergency Medical Services.

Approaches: Teens reach out for support on a variety of topics and are able to talk with a trained peer crisis intervention specialist who can listen, relate, and empathize while discussing healthy coping skills and encouraging help seeking behavior. The phone lines are open 24 hours a day. The helpline is answered by youth daily from 4-10pm. Outside of these hours, the phone lines are answered by adult volunteers from Lines for Life who also answer the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Details: What to Expect When You Call YouthLine —

We know that talking about what’s bothering you can be difficult and scary. Talking to someone at YouthLine may be the first time you say out loud what it is you’re going through. When you call us, we listen, support, and keep what you share to ourselves. What happens when you call? We’ll probably ask your name and what you want to talk about, and we’ll listen. We won’t give you advice or tell you what to do. Instead, we’ll work with you to figure out next steps or just listen while you talk things out. If it’s helpful, we may tell you about places to get more information or where you can find long-term help. We’ll work really hard to make this a safe and comfortable conversation.

YouthLine is for those ages 11-21. If that doesn’t match you, we’ll get you over to our organization’s adult crisis line. Here are things we don’t do: we won’t judge, we won’t tell you what to do, and we won’t tell you that your feelings are dumb or unreasonable–because they aren’t. YouthLine’s teen volunteers are here to listen to you, to help you know that your feelings matter, and to help you feel better.

Fees: Free, but standard msg & data rates may apply. Text STOP to opt-out. For end user privacy and terms and conditions of texting with 839863, please read Educational Messages Services' Privacy Policy.

Licenses / Certifications: Our YouthLine Peer Crisis Intervention Specialists receive 63 hours of training.