Crisis Text Line and Anglo American Foundation expand youth mental health support in Arequipa

Crisis Text Line and the Anglo American Foundation are partnering to widen confidential, Spanish-language mental health support for young people in Arequipa, Peru, where suicide and depression rates are high and access to care is limited. The effort will embed Aquí Estoy’s text-based service into local youth networks and use service insights to strengthen community response.

Why it matters: - Arequipa has Peru’s highest suicide rate, making youth mental health access an urgent local issue. - The partnership aims to give young people a faster, more private way to reach support in Spanish. - The effort is designed to strengthen the broader care network, not just add another standalone hotline.

What happened: - Crisis Text Line joined with the Anglo American Foundation to expand youth mental health support in Arequipa through Aquí Estoy’s service. - Aquí Estoy is a nonprofit powered by Crisis Text Line that provides confidential support across 20 Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, Spain and the Caribbean. - The initiative will connect with local organizations, schools, universities and community spaces in Arequipa.

The details: - In Arequipa, 22% of adolescents report suicidal thoughts. - Depression affects 11.4% of young people in the region. - More than 40% of adolescents experience violence. - Barriers to care include stigma, a shortage of mental health professionals, limited school-based support and insufficient services to meet demand. - The grant will also support volunteer capacity as demand grows. - The program will generate localized insights from service use to inform policy, programming and community response. - Those insights will be shared with key stakeholders to help improve mental health pathways for young people in Arequipa. - Aquí Estoy is also partnering with EMpower to complement ongoing efforts and address gaps in mental health resources across the region. - Insights from service interactions will be shared with EMpower and its partner network to inform program design, advocacy and community-based interventions. - Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, confidential mental health support in English and Spanish. - Since launching in 2013, Crisis Text Line has supported more than 12 million conversations in the U.S. and more than 17 million globally with partners in Canada, the UK and Ireland. - People in the U.S. can text HELLO to 741741 to reach a live volunteer Crisis Counselor. - Additional information is available at the organization's website. - Aquí Estoy, founded in 2020, says it has trained more than 450 volunteers and now receives more than 120,000 conversations a year. - People seeking support can reach Aquí Estoy by texting via WhatsApp.

Between the lines: - The strategy reflects a shift toward embedding mental health support inside existing youth and community systems. - Local partnerships may matter as much as digital access, because stigma and workforce shortages can keep young people from traditional care. - Using service data to inform policy and programming could help the partners identify where the local system is breaking down.

What's next: - Aquí Estoy and its partners will work to expand awareness of mental health resources in Arequipa. - The initiative will continue building referral pathways and connections across local support networks. - Service data will be used to adjust programming and community interventions as needs change.

The bottom line: - The partnership is betting that trusted local networks, not just a text line, will help more young people in Arequipa get mental health support when they need it.