Kids, teens and young adults in distress can send a message to (502) 635-5233 if they want someone to talk to or immediate assistance in Louisville.
They can get help for different needs, like finding a safe place to stay or getting mental health support. A team of volunteers runs the text hotline 24/7 and 365 days a year.
Quan Founder is the associate executive director of YMCA Safe Place. He said the service is crucial for kids who are unhoused, lonely and struggling with mental health issues. The organization is also trying to address issues such as youth violence.
“Young people seem to be victims of that in a repetitive fashion. And so, a lot of the things we’re doing here is trying to break some of those cycles,” he said.
Founder said kids form bonds and find support at school. But during the coronavirus pandemic, they had to stay home, learn remotely and isolate. That, he said, made it harder for them to lean on like friends and classmates. But now, they’re able to form some of those bonds again.
“I think for a lot of young people, it's being able to have a sense of community that they're just now getting the hang of reinitiating or reinstituting in some cases,” he said.
He’s hoping the texting hotline, which he thinks kids and teens prefer to use rather than a phone call, could help improve their communication skills and make it easier for them to ask for help.
The hotline has been live for a month.
“We’ve got messages from young adults who are on the streets and looking for somewhere to be…We’ve gotten text messages from parents trying to figure out if their missing child has shown up here,” he said.
Founder said the hotline is geared toward teens and young adults, but if a volunteer receives a text from an adult or senior, they will connect them to resources.
YMCA’s Safe Place offers a shelter space for youth and young adults, a youth development drop-in center and mentoring programs. People needing help can also see it out in-person at Safe Place sites, where they can wait for a designated Safe Place responder to arrive. Safe Place sites include fast food businesses, fire stations, libraries, community centers and other social service agencies.
