Inside the Teen-Run Hotline Meeting America’s Mental Health Crisis
Teen Line was founded in 1980 under a different name; the grassroots nonprofit evolved into a vital resource for young people struggling with stress, loneliness, relationships and mental health challenges. 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. 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.
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