If you need help.
PAPER TRAILS™ covers hard things. If something here is happening to you or to someone you know, these are people who can actually help. All of them are free, most are confidential, and every one works anywhere in the United States.
If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
If you’re in crisis, call or text 988. It’s free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day.
If you're in crisis right now
Free, confidential, 24 hours a day, anywhere in the US.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988For anyone in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, and for people worried about someone else. Veterans can press 1.
Crisis Text Line
Text HOME to 741741If talking out loud isn't possible or safe, this is text only. A trained counselor replies.
Emergency
911If someone is in immediate physical danger, don't wait on a helpline.
Everyday help, whatever the problem
The number most people have never heard of, and the one that covers the widest ground.
211
Call or text 211Housing, food, rent and utility assistance, healthcare, childcare, transportation, disaster help, and referrals for almost anything else. Free, confidential, and it routes you to services in your own community. Covers most of the US and Canada.
311
Call 311Non-emergency city and county services in many areas: sanitation, noise, code issues, local government questions. Not a help line, but useful and widely available.
Abuse and violence
National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-7233 · text START to 8878824/7, confidential, and they can help you plan for safety, not just talk.
RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-656-467324/7, free, confidential. Connects you to a local provider, and there's an online chat if a call isn't safe.
Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline
1-800-422-445324/7 for children, parents, and anyone concerned about a child.
National Human Trafficking Hotline
1-888-373-7888 · text 23373324/7, confidential, over 200 languages.
Mental health and addiction
SAMHSA National Helpline
1-800-662-435724/7 treatment referral and information for substance use and mental health. Free, confidential, and it does not require insurance.
NAMI HelpLine
1-800-950-6264Information and support for people living with mental illness and for their families. Not a crisis line.
The Trevor Project
1-866-488-7386 · text START to 678-67824/7 crisis support for LGBTQ young people.
Legal and justice
We are not lawyers and cannot give legal advice. These people can.
Legal aid in your state
LSC.gov/find-legal-aidFree civil legal help for people who can't afford a lawyer. Housing, family, benefits, and more.
Your state bar's lawyer referral service
Search: [your state] bar lawyer referralMost state bars run a referral line, often with a low-cost or free first consultation.
The Innocence Project
innocenceproject.orgFor people who believe they were wrongfully convicted.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
1-800-843-567824/7 for missing children and child exploitation.
Veterans and reentry
Veterans Crisis Line
Call 988 then press 1 · text 83825524/7 for veterans, service members, and their families. You don't need to be enrolled in VA care.
National Reentry Resource Center
nationalreentryresourcecenter.orgPrograms and services for people leaving incarceration: housing, employment, and treatment.
PAPER TRAILS™ is not a crisis service. We’re a storytelling company. We’re not therapists, attorneys, physicians, or counselors, and we can’t provide support ourselves. We keep this page because a platform built on difficult stories should point people toward help rather than assume they know where to find it.
These organisations are independent of us. We don’t control them and aren’t responsible for their services. Numbers and services do change, so if something here is out of date, tell us at info@watchpapertrails.com and we’ll fix it.
Outside the United States, search for your country’s equivalent crisis line. findahelpline.com lists services in over 100 countries.