Crisis Text Line is a global nonprofit organization providing free and confidential text-based mental health support and crisis intervention by texting HOME to 741741.[1] The organization launched in 2013, and its services are available 24 hours a day throughout the United States, Canada, UK, and Ireland. As of March 2024, the organization reported that it had supported over 9 million support conversations.[2]
Crisis Text Line was conceptualized as a result of DoSomething's mobile interactions with its members.[3]Nancy Lublin, DoSomething's former CEO, began creating Crisis Text Line after members of the DoSomething organization started reaching out via text for personal support.[3] The service launched in 2013, as the first text-based nationwide hotline.[1] By 2015, the text line was being contacted by more than 350 texters-in-crisis every day.[4]
In early 2015, Lublin coordinated meetings over a week "to raise her first round of funding." And "[b]y the end of the week, she had her 'angel' round of philanthropic capital, $5 million, mostly from tech entrepreneurs."[5]
In July 2015, it was announced that Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile would be waiving fees for use of the service, and in response to privacy concerns that texts to Crisis Text Line would not appear on billing records.[6] AT&T then followed suit.[7]
In January 2016, Chief Data Scientist Bob Filbin was highlighted in The Chronicle of Philanthropy as one of their 40 Under 40 for his work using data to inform Crisis Text Line's efforts. He explains that Crisis Text Line's data collection is centered on "people in their greatest moment of crisis," and that "most of the other data on mental health and crisis is survey data, which is collected after the fact."[8]
On June 16, 2016, Crisis Text Line announced that it has raised $23.8 million from Reid Hoffman, Melinda Gates, Ballmer Group, and Omidyar Network, following the funding approach of tech start-ups.[9]
In March 2017, Crisis Text Line began offering its services via Facebook Messenger and in March 2019 it reported passing its 100 million message milestone.[10][11]
In 2018, Crisis Text Line launched its services in Canada through a partnership with the Kids Help Phone organization.[12]
In April 2020, Business Insider reported that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused "a dramatic spike in people seeking help from crisis text hotlines...The spike coincides with the worsening of the novel coronavirus worldwide, as well as historic layoffs in the U.S." In just a number of weeks, "the number of texts to the hotline has been 47% to 116% higher than an average day".[14]
In 2020, after multiple complaints about management, Crisis Text Line staffers staged a virtual walkout and Twitter campaign (#NotMyCrisisTextLine) demanding the Board of Directors create an "anti-racist" work environment.[15] In response the Board terminated Lublin and replaced two Board members.[16] Dena Trujillo became Interim CEO in 2020 and was named CEO in October 2021.[16]
In 2021, Crisis Text Line launched a Spanish language service to improve service accessibility for Spanish speakers.[17]
In January 2022, Politico investigated Crisis Text Line's practice text data with a for-profit company, Loris.ai, for the purpose of training automated customer support systems to be more “human, empathetic, and scalable”. The for-profit company and the nonprofit had close ties: Crisis Text Line had an ownership stake in Loris.ai as well as having previously had the same CEO for over a year. The organizations had a revenue sharing agreement, which had not activated as of January 2022. The practice of sharing data from people in crisis drew criticism from privacy advocates and Crisis Text Line volunteers, but the nonprofit company argued the practice was legal because clients had continued texting after being notified of the terms of service in a link.[18] The organization announced it was ending its data sharing arrangement three days later.[19]
In May 2022, Nike announced its new podcast No Off-Season, which featured difficult conversations surrounding mental health topics. Told from the perspective of the brand’s top athletes, each episode was guided by mental health experts Crisis Text Line’s Chief Health Officer Dr. Shairi Turner and Global Expansion Director Natalia Dayan.[20]
In 2023, Crisis Text Line released its United Empathy Report, an analysis of over 1.3 million conversations in 2022, highlighting the issues that texters discussed and the coping strategies that helped them feel better.[21]
People who are in any type of crisis can reach out to the text line and expect to be connected with a crisis counselor. Text messaging has been shown to be an effective way to do crisis counseling, due to its popularity with its target young audience, and the anonymity it provides.[22] If the texter is in imminent risk of suicide or harm and is unwilling to separate themselves from the means of harm and create a safety plan, emergency services may be contacted in order to ensure the safety of the texter.[22]
The text line is notable among hotlines for its triage system, in which conversations are assessed by an algorithm for severity and queued accordingly, as opposed to being queued chronologically.[23] This identifies the most vulnerable texters (including those at imminent risk for suicide).[24]
Crisis Text Line’s service is powered by volunteer Crisis Counselors who receive 30 hours of free comprehensive training, which is virtual, interactive, self-paced and in English and Spanish. Clinical supervisors, with degrees in mental health-related fields, monitor every conversation, give feedback in real-time and provide additional support when necessary for volunteer Crisis Counselors.[1] The skills volunteers gain from the training also help them support their family and friends as well as navigate their own mental health.[23]
Crisistrends.org was launched in August 2014 to collect and analyze anonymized texting data derived from the activities of the Crisis Text Line platform.[4] The data is used to display crisis trends according to texter gender, age, race, and ethnicity. It is shared with the public to help decrease stigma around mental health support.[2] Research agencies and institutions also can have access to this data for research purposes.[25]
Crisis Text Line has many open data partnerships, one of them being a collaboration with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory that aims to predict and prevent veteran suicides.[26]
Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, often through its telephone helpline. Its name derives from the biblical Parable of the Good Samaritan, although the organisation itself is not religious.
A crisis hotline is a phone number people can call to get immediate emergency telephone counseling, usually by trained volunteers. The first such service was founded in England in 1951 and such hotlines have existed in most major cities of the English speaking world at least since the mid-1970s. Initially set up to help those contemplating suicide, many have expanded their mandate to deal more generally with emotional crises. Similar hotlines operate to help people in other circumstances, including rape, bullying, self-harm, runaway children, human trafficking, and people who identify as LGBTQ+ or intersex. Despite crisis hotlines being common, their effectiveness in reducing suicides is not clear.
Kids Help Phone is a Canadian charitable organization that provides online and telephone counselling and volunteer-led, text-based support in English and French to youth across Canada. Kids Help Phone also provides information on how to access community support services for youth.
Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public health problem that can have long-lasting effects on individuals, families, and communities. Preventing suicide requires strategies at all levels of society. This includes prevention and protective strategies for individuals, families, and communities. Suicide can be prevented by learning the warning signs, promoting prevention and resilience, and committing to social change.
DoSomething is an international nonprofit organization that aims to inspire and engage young people to create positive change in the world, both online and offline, through various campaigns. The organization is led by CEO DeNora Getachew.
Suicide intervention is a direct effort to prevent a person or persons from attempting to take their own life or lives intentionally.
The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. Focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, they offer a toll-free telephone number where confidential assistance is provided by trained counselors. The stated goals of the project are to provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for youth, as well as to offer guidance and resources to parents and educators in order to foster safe, accepting, and inclusive environments for all youth, at home, schools and colleges.
The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong (SBHK) is a non-government organisation. It is a local voluntary agency which provides counselling services to people with suicidal tendencies or behaviour. This organisation was the first of its kind in Asia.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) veterans organization founded by Paul Rieckhoff, an American writer, social entrepreneur, advocate, activist and veteran of the United States Army and the Iraq War. He served as an Army First Lieutenant and infantry rifle platoon leader in Iraq from 2003 through 2004. Rieckhoff was released from the Army National Guard in 2007.
988 is a telephone number used in some North American (NANP) countries for a suicide prevention helpline. In the United States, it is known as the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. In Canada, it is known as the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline.
Lifeline is a non-profit organisation that provides free, 24-hour telephone crisis support service in Australia. Volunteer crisis supporters provide suicide prevention services, mental health support and emotional assistance, not only via telephone but face-to-face and online.
Nancy Lublin is an American nonprofit executive and businesswoman who was the founder and former CEO of Crisis Text Line and the founder of Dress for Success. She was also the CEO of Do Something Inc., a company that mobilizes youth to participate in social change, from 2003 to 2015.
Services for mental health disorders provide treatment, support, or advocacy to people who have psychiatric illnesses. These may include medical, behavioral, social, and legal services.
Switchboard of Miami, Inc., commonly referred to as Switchboard, was a private, nonprofit and registered 501(c)(3) organization located in Miami, Florida, United States that provided Miami-Dade County with comprehensive telephone counseling and referral services to thousands of social service programs beginning in 1968. The organization also offered counseling services and prevention programs, such as initiatives aimed at assisting high-risk youth and their families through partnerships with local schools. Since 1968, these services have been offered to the community at no charge. Callers can seek advice confidentially, as no information is needed by the company in order to receive the services. Switchboard shut down in 2016 following a "major financial emergency".
Vandrevala Foundation is an NGO established by Cyrus Vandrevala and Priya Vandrevala in 2008. In 2009, the foundation launched the "Mental Health - India" initiative to raise awareness and provide services for emotionally distressed individuals.
United States military veteran suicide is an ongoing phenomenon regarding the high rate of suicide among U.S. military veterans in comparison to the general civilian public. A focus on preventing veteran suicide began in 1958 with the opening of the first suicide prevention center in the United States. During the mid-1990s, a paradigm shift in addressing veteran suicide occurred with the development of a national strategy which included several Congressional Resolutions. More advancements were made in 2007, when the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act created a comprehensive program including outreach at each Veterans Affairs Office (VA) and the implementation of a 24-hour crisis hotline. PTSD, depression, and combat-related guilt in veterans are often related to suicide as it can be difficult for veterans to transition to civilian life.
Bell Let's Talk is a campaign created by the Canadian telecommunications company, Bell Canada, in an effort to raise awareness and combat stigma surrounding mental illness in Canada. It is the largest corporate commitment to mental health in Canada. Originally a five-year, $50 million program to create a stigma-free Canada and drive action in mental health care, research, and the workplace, Bell Let's Talk was renewed in 2015 for five years with a target of committing $100 million, and in 2020, the initiative was renewed for a further five years, and a commitment of $155 million. The most prominent part of the initiative is "Bell Let's Talk Day," an annual one-day advertising campaign held in late-January where money is donated to mental health funds based on the number of social media and communication interactions that include the branded hashtag, #BellLetsTalk, or its Canadian French equivalent, #BellCause.
Trans Lifeline is a peer support and crisis hotline 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering phone support to transgender people. It is the first transgender crisis hotline to exist in the United States as well as Canada. It is also the only suicide hotline whose operators are all transgender. As of 2019, the organization was host to approximately 95 volunteers in addition to a small paid staff. The US number is (877) 565-8860. The Canada number is (877) 330-6366. As of January 1, 2024, budgetary restrictions have forced a reduction in operating hours; the hotline is available Monday–Friday, 10 AM to 6 PM, Pacific time.
The Veterans Crisis Line is a United States–based crisis hotline for military veterans, service members, their families, and caregivers. The service is available 24/7 via the toll-free hotline number 988. Callers press 1 on their keypad to connect to the Veterans Crisis Line instead of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which shares the same number. It can also be reached by texting the SMS number 838255 or via online chat on the hotline's website.
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