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Inside the Teen-Run Hotline Meeting America’s Mental Health Crisis
On weekday evenings between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. PST, the small, softly lit Teen Line office in Culver City, CA, begins to buzz. A handful of high schoolers — many still in their school sweatshirts — settle into cubicles, put on headsets and begin answering calls, texts and emails from other teenagers who need someone to talk to. For more than four decades, Teen Line has been demonstrating the power of a simple but radical idea: That sometimes the best person to talk to about teenage problems is another teenager.
Founded in 1980 as the Center for the Study of Young People in Groups, the grassroots nonprofit evolved into a vital resource for young people struggling with stress, loneliness, relationships and mental health challenges. Today, it operates as part of Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, home to the nation’s first and largest Suicide Prevention Center, which served more than 232,000 individuals in 2024. Teen Line still runs on the same core model: Trained teens supporting peers through nonjudgmental listening.
“I think the biggest thing I say to almost every caller is that it’s okay not to be okay,” says Sanaya, a soft-spoken volunteer who joined in fall 2024 and prefers to only give her first name. “There’s such a culture, especially among teenagers, to just say, ‘I’m fine.’ But by reassuring them that it’s really okay to talk about what’s going on, people start to open up. Then we can have a much deeper conversation.”
Teen Line’s mission feels more critical than ever. Approximately 40 percent of U.S. high-school students report persistent sadness or hopelessness, and suicide remains the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 24, according to the CDC. Teen Line fills a widening gap in the nation’s fraying youth mental health system — with no federal funding, only grants, donations and the dedication of 100 teen volunteers who log more than 10,000 contacts a year from youth around the world. “We even once got a call from a teen in Zimbabwe who found us online,” says Cheryl Karp Eskin, the organization’s senior director.
Approximately 100 teen volunteers log more than 10,000 contacts a year from youth around the world. Photo courtesy of Teen Line
Meanwhile, major funding streams for school-based mental health support have been cut. The U.S. Department of Education recently ended roughly $1 billion in grants originally designated to help schools hire additional counselors and psychologists under the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, passed after a wave of school shootings. Simultaneously, the federal government has removed the dedicated “Press 3” option for LGBTQ+ youth on the national 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
At a time when youth mental health needs are escalating, federal support for key programs is shrinking. That makes Teen Line’s peer-to-peer model all the more essential.
Volunteers like Sanaya must be at least 14 years old and complete a rigorous selection and training process before taking their first call. “It starts with a written application and then interviews,” she explains. “If you get accepted, you get about three months of classroom training where you learn about the various topics you could be covering — anything from bullying to eating disorders to suicide — and how to manage those when you’re on a call. We also learn active listening and ways to make people feel heard.”
That training includes practice calls, guest speakers from organizations like the Rape Treatment Center, and lessons in emotional regulation and crisis response. Only after completing this curriculum do volunteers begin answering emails, then texts and finally phone calls.
Sanaya usually takes about one shift a week, more than the minimum commitment of two shifts a month. “It’s definitely one of my favorite things to do after school,” she says. “I love meeting all of the people that work there. We share a lot of the same interests, and I’ve made some really close friends at Teen Line.”
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According to Eskin, about 60 to 70 percent of contacts come through online channels — text or email — and all are anonymous and confidential unless someone’s safety is at risk. When the Teen Line office closes at 10 p.m., trained adult counselors at Didi Hirsch pick up the phones as part of their shift on the national 988 Lifeline hotline.
“We’re not anti-adult,” Eskin says with a laugh. “But often the adults in teens’ lives are the ones grading them or disciplining them. That power dynamic changes everything. When you’re talking to another teen, it just feels simpler — and safer.”
Eskin would know. She was once a Teen Line volunteer herself in high school and has been involved for more than 15 years. Over that time, she’s seen social media, smartphones and the pandemic reshape what it means to be a teenager and how vital empathy has become.
“Being a teen today is a lot,” she says. “The pressures of school, social media and just being constantly connected, it’s no wonder anxiety and stress are among our top issues, along with relationships, depression and suicide. But what’s hopeful is that teens want to help each other. And when they do, it works.”
Indeed, Teen Line’s impact data show that 98 percent of callers report finding their interaction helpful, and many reach out again or recommend the line to friends. Some even write back months later to say the call “saved their life.
For Sanaya, the experience of listening has been transformative. “I joined at the beginning of my sophomore year because I wanted to make an impact in my community,” she says. “A friend had used Teen Line and found support, and I wanted to be that person for someone else.”
Nearly a year later, she notices the skills carry over into her own life. “We practice active listening all the time, and those skills are so useful — helping a friend who’s stressed, or even just staying calm in a tough situation. It’s changed how I deal with stress or emotions. I feel more logical, more grounded.”
The Department of Education recently ended roughly $1 billion in grants originally designated to help schools hire additional counselors and psychologists. Photo courtesy of Teen Line
Calls vary in length — sometimes ten minutes, sometimes over an hour. “Sometimes it’s just them ranting and me listening; other times it’s more of a conversation,” Sanaya says.
Lately, the most common topic she hears is school stress. Relationship issues — romantic, family, or friendship — are a close second.
When conversations reveal deeper issues like abuse, eating disorders, or suicidal thoughts, Teen Line volunteers are trained to connect callers with professional resources such as the National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN) or local crisis centers. “There’s not always a lot you can do in one call,” Sanaya says, “but if you can make even a small impact, and give them resources to get help, that’s the best thing you can do.”
Peer-to-peer listening isn’t new, but research increasingly underpins its effectiveness. A 2023 systematic review in The British Journal of Psychiatry found that structured peer support significantly reduced depressive symptoms and increased help-seeking among teens. For many young people, peers are the first — and sometimes only — people they trust to confide in.
Eskin believes that’s where Teen Line’s true power lies. “We like to say no problem is too big or too small,” she says. “You don’t have to be in a life-or-death crisis to reach out. Sometimes starting the conversation is what gets someone to the help they need.”
She’s also quick to dispel doubts about whether teenagers can handle the emotional weight of this work. “A lot of people question whether teens can do this,” Eskin says. “But I’ve seen it for decades — they can, and sometimes they do it better than adults. With proper screening and training, teens have this incredible capacity for empathy. They meet each other where they are.”
That empathy has ripple effects. Over the years, Teen Line has trained more than 2,000 high school students, many of whom have gone on to careers in counseling, social work and advocacy. Eskin herself is one of them. “I don’t know if Teen Line made me a therapist or if I was always going to be one,” she says, smiling. “But it absolutely shaped how I see the world and how I talk about things like suicide. It’s not scary to me anymore. It’s something we can, and should, talk about.”
For callers, Teen Line can be a lifeline. For volunteers, it can be life-changing. But its broader impact might be cultural: It normalizes talking about mental health in a culture that often discourages it.
“Social media can make it look like everyone else is living their best life,” says Sanaya. “It can feel really isolating to someone who’s struggling. I think it’s important to remind people that what they see online isn’t the full truth.”
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Teen Line amplifies that message in school presentations, outreach campaigns and social media. “We’ve had teens tell us they found us because ChatGPT suggested it,” Eskin admits with a laugh. “AI can be scary, but if it’s helping people find human connection, that’s a good thing.”
As evening falls in Culver City, the phones keep ringing. On the other end might be a teen crying quietly about a breakup, someone afraid to tell their parents about depression, or a student overwhelmed by exams.
Sanaya doesn’t always have the perfect words, but she’s learned that sometimes that’s not what matters most. “The best thing I can do is just listen and let them know their feelings are valid,” she says. “Sometimes you don’t have the exact right thing to say, but by just being there, that’s enough.”
In a culture that often tells young people to toughen up, Teen Line’s volunteers are proving the opposite: Gentleness, empathy and listening can save lives. “The power of someone believing you, validating you and really listening, that’s huge,” Eskins says. “That’s where healing begins.”
If you or someone you know needs help, and you are in the U.S., call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org
The post Inside the Teen-Run Hotline Meeting America’s Mental Health Crisis appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful.
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