"Hey Sam" mental health text line for young people needs help after Massachusetts funding cut
BOSTON - A mental health resource for youth by youth. "Hey Sam" is a mental health crisis text line run by Samaritans Hope, a mental health organization based in Boston. The text line is specifically for people age 24 and younger and it's staffed by people of the same age.
"You're listening to them, you're listening to their pain, their story, what they're going through," Hey Sam staff member, Leah Tran told WBZ-TV.
Leah is one of the staff members who responds to the line. She says young people can be scared to talk to friends or family for fear of judgement but the anonymous text line allows them to feel safer.
"I actually had some young people tell me 'Oh this is weird to talk to a stranger, but I kind of like it,'" she explained. The feedback she's gotten since answering the texts is incredible.
"Most of the time people thank me just for listening. Or they thank me for saving their lives," Tran said.
She's struggled with mental health in the past and lost a friend to suicide, which encouraged her to want to help others.
"I felt so guilty in that moment. I remember thinking 'I didn't even know what she was going through.' I wish I was there for her. I really wish she received the support that she needed, especially when she felt so alone. I don't ever want people to feel alone, especially if they're going through something difficult," Tran said.
Tran said when she started to open up about her mental health to others, it helped her tremendously.
"I allowed myself to open up to people and trust people. I felt like I wasn't alone anymore," she explained.
With a new school year underway, Tran said a lot of people have reached out to chat.
"This is definitely a vulnerable time for so many young people because school is starting. I actually had a lot of people reach out to me and say how difficult their classes were and bullying," she said.
Something special that Tran and others who answer the text line are trained to do is listen non-judgmentally. Oftentimes this can be the barrier between someone opening up or not. Tran said they focus on having affirming conversations that show you're listening.
"When it comes to listening to people that could look like validating their feelings and their experiences. Everything that they're experiencing, emotions, feelings, it's all valid and I want them to know it's okay to talk about these things," she explained.
Conversations can be between an hour and an hour and a half, depending on how high risk the texter is. Risk levels are based on a risk assessment that the staffer or volunteer does at the beginning of the conversation.
Samaritans is now lobbying to get their state funding back for the program. Governor Healey took away $1 million from their budget, citing other mental health resources the state funds that youth can use. But none of those resources offer the guaranteed peer-to-peer texting program or conversations that Hey Sam does.
"The idea that we would have young people support other young people makes tons of sense. That's really where young people want help and support from friends, people their own age," Samaritans President and CEO, Kathy Marchi told WBZ.
While they've been answering mental health crisis calls for almost 50 years and are one of the organizations who answer the 988 hotline, the Hey Sam youth program is the only one dedicated to youth helping youth. With 75 staff and volunteers working the line, Kathy said texting is an easier way for young people to talk about their emotions.
"There are services available for people, but young people want to speak to other young people and 988 doesn't provide that for them. It doesn't ensure it," Marchi said.
In just the year and half that Hey Sam has been active, they've had around 3,000 conversations.
"What this shows us is that young people need this particular service. They need the texting access," Marchi explained. They have a 100% de-escalation rate. She said everybody who reaches out to them and is in a crisis is able to safety plan with them.
You might have seen their advertisement in public on MBTA ads, billboards or stickers. Getting the $1 million back would help them expand.
"We want to make sure more people know about it. We want to get out there and make sure more young people are finding community in Hey Sam," Marchi said.
Samaritans is hoping for an override from the legislature to bring Hey Sam's lost funding back in the next few weeks.