Our History

Teens may call our line between 6pm-10pm, or chat/text with us from 6-9:30pm. The Teen Link help line is answered by professionally-trained youth volunteers, ranging in age from 15 to 20. These dedicated volunteers come from all over King County to answer calls and respond to chats.

Free interpreter services are available by phone, but text and chat are only available in English at this time.

The phone worker who answers will ask you what you’re looking for help with, listen to whatever is going on, and may try to help you brainstorm ideas for things that will help. They will listen to what you have to share, offer support and comfort, guide the conversation towards coping with stress, and offer resources and referrals where you can find additional support or information. They will not demand you provide any identifying information,  be judgmental about how you handle your situation, or give you advice about how to fix what you’re going through.

Youth may call Teen Link for all types of reasons. About 10% of the calls deal with suicide. The remaining 90% are about topics like relationships, problems at school, drugs and alcohol, self harm, grief and loss, dating violence, family problems, eating disorders, and much more. At Teen Link, no problem is too big or too small. If you need to talk, our volunteers are there to listen and help you find youth-friendly resources in our community.

Yes! When you call Teen Link with concern about someone else our primary focus will be your needs. If you just need someone to vent to, we can help you with that, and if you’re ready to find resources to share with your friend, we can help you find those also. Reaching out to connect on Teen Link is really just about not facing life’s challenges alone. Talking through how you’re feeling and having a place where there’s room for your own reactions can be calming and help you get clarity on what you could or should do next. We might talk about how you’re coping with your own stress around the situation, listen to your frustration with a friend who you see sliding into a rough place, or give you tools to navigate how to be proactive in getting them help.

You can call on the phone or chat online, whichever is most helpful and convenient that day.

You may share with us what you are comfortable sharing; however, Teen Link volunteers and program staff are mandated reporters. If a caller under the age of 18 is experiencing abuse, or is unable to agree to a safety plan for themselves or a loved one, we must report this. One of our  supervisors, or one of our Crisis Line clinicians will report to CPS.

While we are able to get information from caller ID, teens who reach out to us may share with us what they feel comfortable sharing.

Outside of hours, calls are directed to a trained adult phone worker with one of our sister programs: WA Recovery Help Line.

Adults may call Teen Link from 1-10pm Tuesday-Saturday to speak with our Substance Use Prevention Clinician. Concerned adults may also call Crisis Connections’ King County 24-Hour Crisis Line. We encourage parents to let their teens know about our phone line and to browse our resources for guidance as well.