Kids Help Phone reports 24% surge in overnight texts from young people seeking mental health help

Kids Help Phone is reporting a sharp increase in overnight mental health support requests from young people, with demand for texting help jumping 24 percent year-to-date compared to last year—and Ontario seeing an even steeper 27 percent increase.

The organization defines overnight as requests between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. and says texting is already their busiest service during those hours, running 183 percent higher overnight than during the day. Aaron Sanderson, president and CEO of Kids Help Phone Foundation, told reporters that overnight demand is now at "an all-time high for our texting service."

"Young people are living in a really complex world these days," Sanderson said, citing the 24/7 digital cycle, wildfires affecting communities, and other compounding factors. "We know that the sort of 24/7 digital and technology cycle that they live in, the wild fires that are affecting communities, there's a combo of factors that are making it a different world now as a young person."

Young people reaching out report anxiety, stress, relationship challenges, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Seventy percent of those contacting Kids Help Phone have never discussed their struggles with anyone before, making the service often their first point of disclosure.

The organization receives a new text conversation on average every 90 seconds, day and night. With a surge expected when school starts in September, Kids Help Phone is launching an urgent fundraising appeal to expand its overnight clinical capacity. The J&W Murphy Foundation will match donations up to $250,000 through September 11.

The national data shows the trend continuing and intensifying, particularly in Ontario.