OLYMPIA – Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has launched a new statewide youth helpline.
In a Tuesday news conference, Ferguson announced HearMeWA, which is a first-of-its-kind statewide program focused on the safety and well-being of Washingtonians up to age 25.
The helpline is designed to connect young people to a wide range of existing support services, by offering a direct line to a national crisis center 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Reporting to HearMeWA can be done through phone, text, online or in a mobile app. Once a report is filed, trained crisis counselors will field all the calls and connect the person with service providers who can help.
Teens from the Youth Advisory Group helped design and build the program.
The Attorney General’s office reported data shows that eating disorders in adolescents more than doubled from 2018 to 2022. The rate of young people dealing with depression doubled from 2009 to 2019, to nearly 16%. According to Forbes, almost 58% of Washington youth with depression do not receive mental health services.
HearMeWA can help youth with a variety of challenges, such as:
- Bullying;
- Mental health struggles, such as depression or anxiety;
- Suicidal thoughts;
- Domestic violence;
- Housing or food insecurity;
- Gender identity;
- Threats of violence or rumors of a school shooting;
- Anything that makes life hard.