Help reduce US youth suicide

Finding Success:

ReachOut is an information and support service that uses evidence based principles and technology to help teens and young adults who are facing tough times and struggling with mental health issues. Most content is written by teens and young adults, for teens and young adults, to meet them where they are, and help them recognize their own strengths in order to overcome their difficulties and/or seek help if necessary.

For the last fiscal quarter, with the help of our CalMHSA and RS&E partners, we: 

• Participated in 10 outreach events, hosted 3 trainings, and presented at 3 conferences. 
• We trained 37 youth from across CA in outreach, peer support and text support. 

• Increased the volume of US (+50%) and CA (+100%) ReachOut.com traffic this quarter.

• Added more than five new features to the Reachout.com site to improve engagement and increase conversion of visitors to members, leading to . . .

• Doubled our new US ReachOut.com forum members compared to last quarter and tripled our new CA forum members for a total of 2,832 CA members and 13,994 US members.

• Doubled our ReachOut Text participation compared to last quarter, including doubling CA participants with 205 total participants and 44 from CA.

Almost 14,000 members! With your help, we are providing these youth with tools to combat their feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, and connection for their feelings of isolation. Thank you for your contributions to our cause! 

Testimonials: 

Here is direct feedback from those youth that you are helping with your support:

• Im so glad a site like this exists. Not just for me, but for people who are going through things. I've learned the hard way that no matter how love you feel, no matter how many people you surround yourself by, there will come times when none of them will be able to help you and some might even kick you when you're down. That's when you'll the sympathetic ear of a stranger comes. So more power to this site.

• I lock myself in my room or in the bathroom and just cry because nobody (family and peers) don't understand how I feel...this site seems like the only place I can actually pour out my feeling and not get judged...I feel a little more calm now that I have found this site... and thank you very much about reading this...

• Thank you, all of you. It really helped!  No, there is no LGBTQ+ groups that I know of anywhere near me, though I will look into that. One of my best friends, a straight girl named Alice (Name has been changed) who might be someone I can talk to. Everything that you all have told me has really helped me and made me realize that it doesn't matter what everyone else says around me, its what I think that counts. Thank you all so much!  There is no one around me but myself pressuring me. I would really like to know who I am, as I love to try to help other people through my Youtube account. If I don't know who I am, I can't help people very well can I? Anyway, I'm looking at online groups I could join, but everyone here has helped me so much. It means a lot!

•  Just wanted to let you all know that this morning I came out to a friend. First time coming out to someone I know. They are very accepting, which is nice. It feels wonderful, it's very relieving having someone else know. I don't know when I'll tell someone next, but for now I'm okay. It does get better :hug:

Links:

• ReachOut
• SAMHSA report