Hotlines for Mental Health Crises

In light of the ongoing pandemic, and in anticipation of a continued mental health crisis as we move into winter, the Adolescent Mental Health Network has put together a list of hotlines and other emergency resources for mental health crises. As most hotlines work best when you’re calling for yourself, rather than on someone else’s behalf, we would encourage you to make this list available to the young people you work with. Please note the text lines; many people find texting to be easier than calling in times of crisis.

Please also know that if a child is unsafe, it is always best to go directly to the nearest emergency room. In Massachusetts, the Emergency Services Program/Mobile Crisis Intervention (ESP/MCI) also supports Mobile Crisis Units, which provide emergency behavioral health crisis, intervention, and stabilization services provided statewide and can be contacted at 1-877-382-1609.

National Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 for 24/7 support

National Suicide Prevention Line: 800-273-8255

Samiritan Hotline (MA only): 877-870-4673

Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860

Trevor Lifeline (LGBTQ specific): 866-488-7386, 

Trevor Text (LGBTQ specific): text START to 678678

Please also note that, if you are speaking with someone who is contemplating suicide, or in any other sort of urgent crisis, the first step is to go to the nearest emergency room immediately. It may also be helpful to familiarize yourself with the procedure for calling the Mobile Crisis Intervention/Emergency Services Program.

Thinking About Grief: Tips and Resources from the Dougy Center

This month, we’re highlighting The Dougy Center, a nonprofit that focuses on supporting grieving young people and their families. Some of the resources they provide include simple and accessible tip sheets (including ones  for young people who are grieving and for their friends and the adults in their lives), self-care tips for young people, and a Bill of Rights of Grieving Teens written by young people participating in programs at the Dougy Center. We hope these resources will help you to meet young people where they are and accompany them through a time of grief.

Thinking About Mindfulness: Supporting Resiliency in an Anxious World

A growing body of research supports what any of us working with young people already know--that our young people are experiencing increasing amounts of stress.   More importantly, a growing body of evidence supports that increased time on smartphones is part of the problem. Well, smartphones are not going away, but as you consider how to shape your program and relationships with your young people this year, here are a couple of articles that offer some simple but powerful steps we can take to help counteract the stress our kids are suffering under.

A recent Washington Post article, "Teens are more stressed and anxious, but they don't know why...," stresses the importance of what many youth workers already value, the power of personal connections. The essay, written by a psychologist on a suicide hot line, also includes several excellent links to other resources on talking with young people about serious mental health concerns.

More attention is also being given to the value of mindfulness and meditation. Pediatrician Dr. Dzung X. Vo maintains Mindfulness for Teens, a website of resources for young people interested in increasing their mindfulness skills. While Dr. Vo's approach is secular, these tools can easily be adapted in developing a spiritual practice to help young people build up their resiliency by strengthening their connection to God through Christ.