Crisis Text Line was born “from the rib” of DoSomething.org, the largest organization for young people and social change. Dozens of DoSomething.org members were texting in to ask for personal help and CEO Nancy Lubin came up with the idea for Crisis Text Line and quietly launched in August 2013.
Within 4 months, Crisis Text Line was being used in all 295 area codes in the US. Two years later, Crisis Text Line spun out into a separate entity and Nancy went along with it.
Read the full story in this New Yorker article.
United Kingdom – Text HOME to 85258
Shout is an affiliate of Crisis Text Line in the UK that provides free, confidential support, 24/7 via text. Shout is available in the UK, including England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Canada – Text HOME to 741741 or 686868
Crisis Text Line powered by Kids Help Phone is a service partnership between Kids Help Phone and technology pioneer Crisis Text Line, providing young people in Canada with the first-ever, 24/7, free nationwide texting service.
Ireland – Crisis Text Line Ireland is currently accepting applications for Crisis Volunteers.
New Zealand – Crisis Text Line is working with local affiliates to launch these services next.
All affiliates of Crisis Text Line international use the same technology stack built by us in New York…for free.
Our team is hard at work to bring Crisis Text Line to everyone who needs it and we plan to launch our service in 5 languages in the next 2 ½ years.
Next up, we’ll be working on launching Spanish and continue to expand our English services. And we want to collaborate with the local experts! We are looking for Spanish or English speaking helplines and organizations around the world that are interested in becoming our local partners.
If you are a Spanish or English speaking helpline or organization and are interested in learning more about partnerships, please fill out this form.
Crisis Text Line is powered by volunteer Crisis Counselors who work remotely — anywhere with a computer and secure internet connection works.
We are now accepting applications for volunteers in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada. If you’d like to become a volunteer in New Zealand or speak Spanish and want to volunteer, please complete the form below and we will contact you when the application is ready.
Crisis Counselors commit to 200 total hours of volunteering, serving a recommended 4 hours per week to meet this requirement. Before you begin as a Crisis Counselor, you’ll also complete a training period to give you all of the expertise you need to successfully and empathetically navigate crisis intervention.
If you’re interested in volunteering, please fill out this form and someone from your team will be in touch shortly.
We are also looking to create new services in Portuguese, French and Arabic in the next 2 ½ years. If you are a helpline or organization that provides services in any of these languages and want to learn more about partnership, please fill out this form.
