Resources you can use now
Hotlines, text, and chat resources
If you are in crisis, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-273-8255. Press 1 for the Veterans Helpline.
You could also get help by texting “HEAL” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or contacting Lifeline Crisis Chat.
If you’re under 21, you can call Teen Link at 866-TEENLINK (866-833-6546) and ask to talk to a peer. The phone line is open 6 p.m.– 10 p.m. and chat is available 6 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. daily.
A state mental health crisis line (by county) should be able to help you with a therapy referral.
Dial 2-1-1 or search the Washington 2-1-1 database to find local services and resources.
This page has the following information.
Crisis Lines for Specific Groups | Youth Online Services and Resources
Crisis Lines for Specific Groups
For those with specific crisis needs
24/7 confidential hotline for law enforcement. Calls are answered by a peer support counselor.
Contact by phone at 800-267-5463
The Institute on Aging’s Friendship Line
A crisis and support line for adults who are 60 or older or have disabilities.
Contact by phone at 800-971-0016 or by email
24/7 and confidential, the Washington Poison Center prevents harm from poisonings by being the primary resource for poison treatment, education and prevention. Connect to specially-trained nurses, pharmacists and poison specialists in your local area. Services are available for people with hearing difficulties and in 240 languages.
Contact by phone at 800-222-1222
24-hour hotline focusing on supports for LGBTQ young people in crisis.
Contact by phone at 888-488-7386, chat and text services also available
Peer support hotline for transgender people experiencing a crisis
Contact by phone at 877-565-8860
For anyone who has ever served in the armed forces, guard, or reserves
Call the Veterans Crisis Line 800-273-8255, Press 1
Text a VA Responder 838255
Online chat
24-hour help for substance abuse, problem gambling and mental health
Contact by phone at 866-789-1511
Youth Online Services and Resources
Apps | Washington Helplines and Resources | National Helplines | College Students | LGBT Youth | Native Youth | Teens Experiencing Bullying | When a Friend Dies
Apps
Suicide Prevention Apps – At this link you will find eight different suicide prevention apps. They will help you recognize warning signs, build a safety plan, and give practical advise on how to intervene with an at-risk person. The apps provide you with resources on suicide prevention information, breathing exercises and grounding techniques, and some helpful do’s and don’ts when reaching out to a potentially suicidal love one.
Resilience, Mental Health Promotion & Suicide Prevention Apps – This list has app examples for “upstream” (preventing problems before they emerge through self-help), “midstream” (catching emerging problems early and linking people to least restrictive support), and “downstream” (helping people with more serious mental health challenges and suicidal thoughts) suicide prevention approaches.
The Mighty created a list of eight apps you can download on your phone to help you positively cope with any struggles you may be dealing with. There are examples for anxiety, schizophrenia, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and substance abuse.
Other apps to improve self-care
- Calm Harm provides tasks to help you resist or manage the urge to self-harm, including cutting. If you want to you can set a password so that it’s completely private.
- Stop, Breathe & Think – Meditation & mindfulness to help you build the emotional strength and confidence to handle life’s ups and downs. It has a unique approach that allows you to check in with your emotions, and then recommends short, guided meditations, yoga and acupressure videos, tuned to how you feel.
- Headspace offers guided meditations, animations, articles and videos.
Washington Helplines and Resources
Clark County Teen Talk – The Clark County Teen Talk offers non-judgmental peer-to-peer support on any topic by phone, online chat, message board or email on Monday – Friday 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Crisis Clinic of the Peninsulas – The Crisis Clinic of the Peninsulas’ provides over-the-phone crisis intervention, information referral, and a supportive listening ear to people in our community who are experiencing situational distress. These are 24-hour crisis lines.
Crisis Clinic of Thurston and Mason Counties – The Crisis Clinic has a main crisis line and a youth help line. Both are available 24/7. From 4 p.m. – 8 p.m., they try to have the youth line staffed by youth volunteers. No crisis is too small to make the call!
ImHurting Crisis Chat – ImHurting Crisis Chat is a service offered through Volunteers of America Western Washington in the North Puget Sound region. You can call their crisis line or chat online 24/7.
SoundCareKids – SoundCareKids is a support program for families with youth who have experienced the death of a significant person in their lives. There are 3 groups for youth: the Littles Group (ages 5-8), the Middles Group (ages 9-12), and the Teens Group (ages 13-18). Contact the SoundCareKids Bereavement Program for meeting information.
Teen Link – The Teen Link help line offers phone (6 p.m.– 10 p.m.) and chat (6 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.) support by trained youth volunteers. Youth call for all types of reasons. At Teen Link, no problem is too big or too small.
National Helplines
Boys Town – Boys Town has a 24/7 national hotline and text line. They have Spanish-speaking counselors and translation services for over 140 languages. There is also a TDD line.
Crisis Text Line – The Crisis Text Line offers 24/7 emotional support and information support to teens in any type of crisis, including suicide, by trained volunteers via texting. You can text with a trained specialist 24 hours a day. Text HEAL to 741741 to start a conversation.
Teen Line – The teen line offers peer support by teens for teens through a hotline (6–10 p.m.), a text-line (5:30–9:30 p.m.), a message board, and email. It also provides a blog, information, and resources.
Umatter – This website’s message is that everybody needs help sometimes. If you are having suicidal thoughts or are worried about someone else, don’t keep it to yourself. You Matter. You can get help. It provides information about where to get help and how to talk to someone who might be suicidal and videos from other teens.
Your Life Your Voice – This site offers four ways to get help – youth can talk counselors 24/7, they can chat Monday – Friday from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m., text from 4 p.m. – 1 a.m. (CST), or send an email. There are tips on coping skills, dealing with grief, and many other important topics, a bulletin board, and videos
College Students
The Jed Foundation – The foundation wants to promote the emotional health and prevent suicide among college and university students. It has a variety of programs for students, from MUV’s college network to social networking sites to tours and events.
ULifeline – This is an online resource for college students dealing with mental health issues. It provides resources on many mental health topics, helps students find resources on campus and in the local area, and provides suggestions how to help a friend.
LGBT Youth
It Gets Better Project – This project wants to let lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth know that life will get better. The project also inspires youth to make needed changes in order to feel better. It offers a resource center, tweets, and inspirational videos from members. Youth can record their own story on a camera and share it with other members.
Trans Lifeline – The Trans Lifeline is a hotline run by transgender people for transgender people. They are dedicated to the wellbeing of transgender people and want to support you.
The Trevor Project – The Trevor Project provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth ages 13–24. Its website has information about the signs of suicide and a way to connect online with other LGBTQ youth. The Trevor Helpline is a 24-hour toll-free suicide hotline at 1-888-488-7386. TrevorChat is for online crisis chat 6 hours a day. Trevor Text is for texting on Fridays late afternoon to early evening. Text “Trevor” to 202-304-1200.
Native Youth
We R Native – Although We R Native is for native youth, by native youth, resources can be helpful to anyone who identifies as native. You can also post anonymous questions on the “Ask Auntie” message board.
You Are Not Alone Network – This website offers a Native Youth Crisis Hotline. The site also includes videos, information on state and national resources, elder’s wisdom, an illustrated story, and videos.
Teens Experiencing Bulling
Teens Against Bullying – This website tells bullied youth that they are not alone. It offers stories, videos, poetry, and artwork from bullied teens, encourages teens to reach out and to tell an adult, informs them of their rights, and helps them develop an action plan.
When a Friend Dies
When a Friend Dies: Guidelines for Students – This document provides suggestions to youth as to how to deal with a friend’s suicide and how to help one’s friends. The suggestions come from youth and from experts.