On the Ground

Crisis Text Line, founded in 2013, is the first and largest text-based crisis service in the United States. We believe everyone in crisis deserves to be heard.

Through a nationwide network of trained volunteer counselors, we provide free, confidential, 24/7 crisis support via text to millions globally. Text HOME to 741741 and connect with a counselor in 38 seconds—far faster than the 10+ minute average of traditional crisis lines.

As of 2024, we've handled over 9 million conversations. 68% of texters end conversations with a safety plan. We also operate CrisisTrends.org, publishing anonymized, aggregated mental he...

31 staff. 22,000 families. 6 cities. 47 communities.

Over twenty years, Shanghai's Xin Tu Community Health Promotion Society went through three fundamental shifts: from direct service delivery, to training community "Health Ambassadors" to serve their own neighborhoods; from labor-intensive expansion, to exploring digital platforms; and from centralized management, to a "sense-and-respond" organizational philosophy forged in the chaos of the pandemic.

Each transformation was forced upon them. But each time, they were already thinking, already experimenting.

This episode closes with three questions: Do the connections you've built survive without your organization? Where is your ceiling for growth? And...