- This is a really hard time
for people who felt
and experienced marginalized behavior and pain before.
All of that has just become more acute now.
Quarantines just make those things more acute.
[somber music]
The pandemic has caused a lot of changes for us.
We have seen our volume grow 40%
since the start of COVID.
We can handle more.
So text us.
[somber music]
- Have you seen any dramatic changes
in who's using the service or what they're using it for?
- So
from under 18
Those are the people
who are finding their lives most disrupted right now.
They've moved back home,
or they find themself quarantining alone,
or their job has changed,
or school has changed.
We've seen, so, a huge rise in anxiety,
a huge increase in financial issues--
worried about being homeless,
about losing jobs, about financial ruin.
We have a ton of young people
who are texting in about their parents,
who are on the front lines and are essential workers,
and they're very worried about them.
But the most fascinating thing, I think,
is that the front-line people themselves who text in
are worried about getting the virus,
are worried about their own financial position,
but the thing they're worried about most
is giving the virus to their other family members.
[somber music]
- The whole idea of social isolation
is safety, and protecting yourself,
and protecting those around you.
But when social isolation is actually more dangerous,
how do you go about helping someone in that situation?
- Quarantines are hard.
It may be unsafe for individuals who are LGBTQ
and sheltered with people who are homophobic.
If you're someone with substance abuse issues
and you can't get to your regular care,
to an AA meeting in person.
And the impact of the quarantines themselves
have caused a 74% increase in domestic violence conversations
and a 48% increase in sexual abuse conversations.
There are a lot of people who are quarantined at home
with abusive people.
We can be there with you in that moment.
Because it's text.
Because it's quiet.
'Cause nobody hears you.
[exciting music]
- Oh, wow.
- So you just text 741741 in the U.S. or Canada.
The first thing you see is an automatic message back
that says thanks for reaching out
and gives you a link to our terms of service
and privacy policy.
The second thing you see is a question: What's your crisis?
And we just get right into it.
There's three lines of defense
on the other side.
The first is the algorithm that ranks you in the queue.
The second is that amazing, empathetic
crisis counselor who will handle your conversation.
Every message you send
back and forth will be with that human.
And the third is with a supervisor
who has a master's degree
in a relevant field,
and they're watching all the conversations in real time.
So you actually have a team,
a team helping you out.
So you are really not alone.
[somber music]
- And so who primarily
was using the service in the beginning?
- Crisis Text Line has always skewed
young, poor, rural, and diverse.
From the day we launched,
the top five issues that we saw were
In that order.
[somber music]
We're seeing some things that are hopeful.
Talking in smaller time frames,
like saying, 'What are you going to do tonight?'
'What's your plan for tomorrow to stay strong?'
Just thinking about this one day at a time
really works.
We just want to reach more people.
We want more people to know that we're here and available
and no crisis is too small.
[somber music]