A free, confidential crisis line staffed by young people is now operating in Hawaii, giving teens someone their own age to talk to.

• YouthLine Hawaii offers free, confidential support by phone, text, and chat for anyone up to age 24.
• The people answering are themselves 15 to 24, so callers talk to someone close to their own age instead of an adult.
• The service has run in Hawaii for about a year and a half and also takes contacts from across the country.
• Volunteers go through 65 hours of training before taking calls, and several say the work pushed them toward careers in mental health.
• The group works alongside Hawaii CARES, which runs the 988 crisis line in the state.

Outlook: The program is expanding its volunteer base and expects demand from young people to keep growing.