Teen Hotline Aims to Connect With Troubled Youths

Amid the cutbacks and uncertainty that have hit social service programs since the county filed for bankruptcy 14 months ago, a small but promising bright spot is emerging at the end of an anonymous business park on Katella Avenue.

The office is home to the Hotline Help Center, a nonprofit crisis line that has been answering calls for nearly 30 years.

Beginning in March, the center plans to open a countywide youth hotline aimed at connecting teenage callers with peer counselors trained to discuss the pressures of growing up and direct those in need toward professional help.

Organizers said they hope the teen-to-teen dialogue will offer young people the kind of comfortable and honest forum that a hotline staffed by adult counselors cannot provide.

“Having this will result in a lot more openness,” said Nick Gough, 37, a youth pastor at the Zion Christian Center in Orange and one of the architects of the hotline. “I think teens can better connect and bond with their peers. I know they would never say things to me that they would discuss with other teens.”

Though the hotline is associated with several churches around the county, organizers stressed that their goal is to create a sounding board for teens, not to proselytize to them.

“All we want to do is help them talk out their problems.” said Pat Pena, director of the Hotline Help Center. “This is not about giving them advice. They have to make their own choices.”

County health officials said the type of peer counseling envisioned by the center can benefit teenagers who often have difficulty discussing their feelings with family members, friends or teachers.

But experts stressed that such phone services should make it clear the counselors are available to listen but not to provide a medical diagnosis or professional advice.

“If teens are calling to talk with their peers, there is no pretense that this is a medical or psychological service,” said Bernard Rappaport, deputy director for children and youth of the county’s mental health division.

“The very process of talking about your experiences and feelings with someone can be very therapeutic in itself,” Rappaport added. “Having other teenagers listening helps because they can best understand how [the callers] feel.”

Teens already have access to several youth hotlines, though most are based outside Orange County. One of the most prominent is (800) HIT HOME in San Diego, which provides callers with references to counseling and programs across the country. Other services focus on specific areas such as child abuse and runaways.

The history of crisis hotlines in Orange County is mixed. A few, such as the Hotline Help Center and the Crystal Cathedral’s New Hope service, have stood the test of time. But many other services opened with much fanfare only to close down months later because of money or staffing shortages.

Hotlines also have been hit hard by the state recession and county bankruptcy, which cut into donations. But Pena expressed confidence that the Hotline Help Center can organize the volunteers and generate the funds needed to maintain the fledgling teen line. The center now is seeking donations to pay for the telephone equipment and publicity for the new service.

“The need for peer counseling is there,” Pena said. “Older people can’t always identify and get through to teens. They don’t speak the same language. I think there is a clear generation gap.”

About 40 teens already have signed up for training. They will attend several seminars and test their skills by answering each others’ calls before the system goes online in mid-March. The hotline--(714) 639-TEEN--is scheduled to operate from 2 to 10 p.m. daily.

The volunteers said they see their role as providing a sympathetic ear and a supportive attitude to troubled teens.

“Just having someone to open up to and not keep things bottled up can help,” said one 18-year-old counselor from Southern California Christian High School in Orange. The center requested that the volunteers remain anonymous to prevent any problems once operations begin. “There are a lot of kids out there who need to know there is hope,” the student said.

Added another volunteer from Anaheim: “I think there are kids out there who are scared but don’t know who they can talk to about their feelings. . . . This offers them a place to turn.”