Parents and young people facing an emotional crisis now have a place to turn anytime, day or night - the National Parent and Youth Helpline.
The program used to run 12 hours a day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and started in 1969 as the National Parent Helpline. Now, the federal Administration for Children and Families has given the nonprofit Parents Anonymous a five-year, $10 million grant to expand the mission to help youth up to age 25 as well.
"We are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, providing emotional support. Even if you're just concerned, you feel overwhelmed," said Lisa Pion-Berlin, president and CEO of Parents Anonymous. "You want to talk to somebody, you want to chat with them, you want to text them, we have all the ability to do all of those things."
The nation's 174 million parents and young people who need emotional support can call or text at 855-427-2736 or live chat 24/7 through the website: nationalparentyouthhelpline.org.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey, from 2021, showed 20% of teens had considered suicide, particularly Black youths and LGBTQ+ youths.
Pion-Berlin said reaching out is a sign of strength, and noted the helpline's trained counselors will never "blame or shame" a caller. The service will also direct people to local agencies that can help meet their immediate needs.
"We will look for resources, depending on where you live in this country. There may be a family resource center, there may be a place you can get concrete support like food and address housing issues. There also might be places you can go for free counseling," she continued.
People who live in California can take part in free weekly online evidence-based Parents Anonymous support groups. The helpline is designed to be inclusive -- and uses a translation service that can handle calls in dozens of languages.
