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Emergency Help and Hotlines

Emergency Help and Hotlines

Depression and Suicide

  1. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
    Call: 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
    Text: 988
    Chat: https://988lifeline.org/chat/
    The Lifeline provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Employs nonconsensual active rescue.
    • Ayuda En Español: Para acceder al apoyo en español, marque 988 y presione 2. Escuchará un mensaje que le dice que ha llegado a la línea 988 de prevención del suicidio y crisis. Luego, escuchará un poco de música de espera mientras lo transferimos a una persona calificada. Esta persona le escuchará, le brindará apoyo y compartirá cualquier recurso que le pueda ser útil.
  2. Your Life, Your Voice
    Call: 1-800-448-3000
    Text: ‘VOICE’ to 20121
    Email: Contact form
    The Boys Town National Hotline is a toll-free number available to kids, teens, and young adults at any time. They offer tips and resources to help with tough situations including mental health struggles, problems with family and friends, and bullying and abuse.
  3. Boston Emergency Services Team (BEST)
    Call: 1-800-981-HELP (4357)
    Visit: 25 Staniford Street, Boston MA 02114
    Visit: 140B South Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130
    The BEST team, under the leadership of Boston Medical Center and with the support of the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership, provides 24/7 crisis response and emergency mental health services to children, adolescents and adults in Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Revere, Somerville and Winthrop communities. Staff at the 800-981-HELP Call Center will provide support, information, referral, or arrange an in-person evaluation. The Call Center will dispatch mobile clinicians to intervene at the site of the crisis unless a different setting is requested by a family or if the containment of a more secure setting is required.
  4. Mobile Crisis Intervention
    Call: 1-877-382-1609
    MCI serves youth experiencing a mental health or substance abuse crisis 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year. MCI provides crisis assessment, intervention, and short-term stabilization. Instead of going to the emergency room, you can get these services in your home or at other locations in the community. MCI services are available to youth covered by MassHealth or Medicare, or who are uninsured.

Abuse

  1. National Safe Place's TXT 4 HELP
    Text: ‘safe’ to 44357 (4HELP)
    TXT 4 HELP works anywhere in the US, and extends access to safety for teens. TXT 4 HELP can be used for the same reason a young person may go to a Safe Place site: abuse, bullying, family problems, depression, suicidal thoughts, and others. TXT 4 HELP counselors can provide support via text and can offer suggestions for immediate help regardless of where you are.
    • Here’s how it works: Text the word “safe” and your current location (address, city, state) to 4HELP (44357). Within seconds, you will receive a message with the closest Safe Place site and phone number for the local youth agency. For immediate help, reply with “2chat” to text interactively with a trained counselor. It’s quick, easy, safe, and confidential. TXT 4 HELP is a free service offered to all youth in crisis. For more information on Safe Place sites in Boston, visit the website of Bridge Over Troubled Waters.

Sexual Assault

  1. National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline
    Call: 800-656-HOPE (4673)
    Chat: https://hotline.rainn.org/online
    When you call, you’ll be routed to a local RAINN affiliate organization based on the first six digits of your phone number. Cell phone callers can enter the ZIP code of their current location to more accurately locate the nearest sexual assault service provider. Calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline gives you access to many free services including:
    • Confidential support from a trained staff member
    • Support finding a local health facility that is trained to care for survivors of sexual assault and offers services like sexual assault forensic exams
    • Someone to help you talk through what happened
    • Local resources that can assist with your next steps toward healing and recovery
    • Referrals for long term support in your area
    • Information about the laws in your community
    • Basic information about medical concerns

Housing

  1. Bridge Over Troubled Waters
    Call: 617-423-9575
    Email: bridge@bridgeotw.org
    Visit: 47 West Street, Boston, MA 02111
    If you are a young person in Boston who needs support and a safe place to stay, Bridge can help. If you need immediate shelter or want to learn more about Bridge programs, schedule a meeting or stop in at their downtown Boston location Monday-Friday 9 am to 5 pm. You can also stop by any Safe Place in the Boston area, including Boston Public Library branches, to get help connecting with Bridge.
  2. Youth on Fire
    Call: 617-661-2508
    Email: yof@fenwayhealth.org
    Visit: 1 Church Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
    Youth on Fire (YOF), a program of AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, is a drop-in center for homeless and street-involved youth, ages 14-24, located in Harvard Square, Cambridge. YOF provides hot meals, showers, and laundry, medical and mental health care, help looking for housing, and more to hundreds of young people.

LGBTQ

  1. The Trevor Project
    Call: 1-866-488-7386
    Text: 678-678
    Chat: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/webchat
    The Trevor Project is a national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
  2. LGBT National Youth Talkline
    Call: 1-800-246-7743
  3. The LGBT National Help Center operates the Youth Talkline, a crisis prevention line that provides peer support, resources, affirmation, and acceptance. All calls are confidential and will not be reported to any outside organization or authority.
  4. Trans Lifeline
    Call: 1-877-565-8860
    Trans Lifeline is a hotline staffed by trans people, for trans people, which provides anonymous and confidential support, resources, and emergency help, in English or Spanish. Trans Lifeline is divested from police and will not provide nonconsensual active rescue (such as calling 911, emergency services, or law enforcement).

Domestic and Dating Violence

  1. National Domestic Violence Hotline
    Text 'START' to 88788
    Call: 1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
    Chat: https://www.thehotline.org
    The National Domestic Violence Hotline helps survivors of domestic violence so they can live their lives free of abuse. Expert advocates offer free, confidential, and compassionate support, and crisis intervention information, education, and referral services in over 200 languages.
  2. Safelink
    Call: 1-877-785-2020
    SafeLink is Massachusetts’ statewide 24/7 toll-free domestic violence hotline. It is for anyone affected by domestic or dating violence. Are you worried about someone or do you have questions about abuse? Do you recognize warning signs of an unhealthy relationship? Do you need help or support? Advocates provide non-judgmental support, help with safety planning, and information on resources. Advocates are bilingual in English and Spanish and have access to a service that can provide translation in more than 130 languages.

Access

  1. Mass Relay – This free and confidential relay service enables those who are disabled to communicate over regular telephone lines through a relay operator.
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