Youth Helproom

What is Youth HelpRoom?

Youth HelpRoom is a group chat service that allows young people who are experiencing or have experienced sexual violence, to connect with, and support one another in a moderated and secure online environment at RAINN.org. RAINN’s top priority is your safety. Because of that, we designed Youth HelpRoom from the ground up, so that you remain completely anonymous and your participation in a Youth HelpRoom discussion is confidential.

RAINN staff are mandatory reporters, so only share your name, age, or location if you would like a report to be filed about what brought you here today. If you do not want RAINN to file a report, do not share any information about your name, age, or location.

Youth HelpRoom is topic-specific and moderated by trained RAINN staff. They will provide resources, help keep conversations survivor-centered, and enforce ground rules to create a safe environment for everyone. RAINN hosts separate sessions for young people between the ages of 14-17, and ages 18-24.

When is Youth HelpRoom Available?

Youth HelpRoom Schedule

Upcoming session details

Tuesday March 28th, 3:00pm - 4:30pm EST

Topic 2 - Consent & Boundaries

Youth reach out to RAINN often for education regarding consent and establishing boundaries, and what to do when something occurs that is non-consensual or crosses a boundary. This session aims to support youth in understanding what consent is and isn’t, creating boundaries and ways to address their concerns.

Friday April 28th, 11:00pm - 12:30am EST

Topic 3 - Understanding Your Experience

Youth reach out to RAINN’s on-line hotline, telephone hotline and group chat services often to gain some understanding of what they have or are currently experiencing. In this session, youth will be provided the opportunity to discuss their experiences, identify some of the common challenges youth face, and explore what it means to feel safe and supported in their lives.

Sunday May 28th, 7:00am - 8:30am EST

Topic 4 - Safety Planning: Finding & Creating Safe Spaces

Youth who experience sexual violence often feel they have limited access to safe spaces or safe people. This session aims to support participants in finding and creating safety around their physical, mental and social health.

Wednesday June 28th, 3:00pm - 4:30pm EST

Topic 5 - Coping: Building Strength

Survivors of sexual violence often experience symptoms that they find difficult to manage, feeling unstable, out of control, and alone. It can be scary for survivors to experience symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares and panic attacks because they’re often not aware that it’s a normal reaction to an abnormal event. This session seeks to normalize those symptoms and assist visitors with increasing their knowledge and awareness of these challenges, where they come from, along with identifying coping methods to manage them.

Friday July 28th, 11:00pm - 12:30am EST

Topic 6 - Healing: What is it and How Do We Heal

Survivors of sexual violence often hear about recovery and the healing process, but tend to need support throughout their healing journey. This session seeks to explore what healing is, how to start the healing process and challenges that occur on the healing journey.

If a Youth HelpRoom session is not available, you can always connect one-on-one with a RAINN support specialist for anonymous, confidential support via the Online Hotline 24/7. Or, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) to connect with your closest Sexual Assault Service Provider(SASP) over phone.

If you would like to find a SASP in your local area to connect with for support, you can search for local SASPs in the Centers database.

What are the Youth HelpRoom Ground Rules?

Youth HelpRoom participants are asked to commit to following shared ground rules before entering a Youth HelpRoom session. The rules are in place to ensure the safety and anonymity of all users. If a participant violates a ground rule, the RAINN staff moderator will connect with them privately to address any issues or concerns.

RAINN staff are mandatory reporters, soonly share your name or location if you would like a report to be filed about what brought you here today. If you do not want RAINN to file a report, do not share any information about your name, age, or location.
To protect your privacy, please be aware of providing any information that could be used to identify you. This includes information like your name, age, address, email address, social media handle, phone number, and school you attend (if applicable). This also includes information about other people, such as family members or someone who has hurt you.
Please do not use any language that may be harmful to others. Examples of harmful language for this particular space, i.e. profanity, derogatory remarks, etc.
Do not ask other members of the chat for their personal information. This includes their email, name, phone number, social media, etc.
The HelpRoom sessions work best when members talk and share with one another. Please join in by sharing your thoughts when you want to, and also give others a chance to share. We ask that you listen to others with respect, and be kind as we support one another.
If you have not participated in the chat for 10 minutes or longer, and have not responded to the staff member, you will be removed from the group.
The HelpRoom does not provide medical or mental health care, and cannot provide this for you. If you are in a dangerous situation, call 911.

The Youth HelpRoom does not provide psychological or behavioral health services. Please do not use the Youth HelpRoom as a substitute for professional healthcare.

Please note, the Youth HelpRoom is intended for participants ages 24 and younger, depending on the session. If you are in danger, call 9-1-1. If you or someone you care about is thinking about suicide, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or connect via their chat.

How we made the Youth HelpRoom Secure and Anonymous:

We do not capture your IP address once you enter the Youth HelpRoom. This means that we have no record that you were ever here.
We do not save a transcript of Youth HelpRoom discussions. Once you close your chat window, that text is not retrievable.
We do not allow participants to share any personally - identifying information while in a Youth HelpRoom discussion.
Youth HelpRoom moderators have the ability to block messages that violate the Ground Rules. Messages that may be blocked or edited include those that contain personal information or inappropriate content that could be disruptive or harmful to other participants.

Is Safety Guaranteed?

No. We have taken extensive precautions to ensure your safety, but we cannot guarantee that someone will not invent a way to circumvent these protections. While we can't eliminate every risk, we have greatly minimized the risks and made it as safe to use as a telephone helpline.
If you are using a shared computer, or fear that you may be monitored, please delete your history, cache, and cookies after participating in the session.

Youth Helproom

What are the warning signs for child sexual abuse?

Every 68 seconds, another American is sexually assaulted.

88¢ of every $1 goes to helping survivors and preventing sexual violence.