Attorney General's office outlines 'Hear Me Wa' 24/7 youth well‑being line and referral system
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Summary
Erica Chang, youth outreach coordinator for the Attorney General's Office, described Hear Me Wa as a statewide, youth‑centered tip and resource line (ages 0–25) that provides anonymous crisis counseling (via Sandy Hook Promise) 24/7, triages tips by urgency and has made more than 500 referrals since launch.
Erica Chang, youth program outreach coordinator at the Attorney General's Office, presented Hear Me Wa — a statewide youth well‑being and reporting service launched in 2024 that links young people to local supports and triages tips to appropriate responders.
Chang said Hear Me Wa is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and serves youth up to age 25 by phone, text, web or the Hear Me Wa app. Crisis counselors from the Sandy Hook Promise National Crisis Center handle initial calls, triage reports according to urgency (life‑safety, urgent, critical), and either warm‑transfer callers to regional crisis lines or notify tip responders such as 911, education services, law enforcement, 988, child protective services or local behavioral‑health providers.
The AGO team described administrative safeguards: email and text notifications to tip responders do not contain tip details and are intended only to alert agencies that a tip is available in the Hear Me Wa tip manager. Chang said Hear Me Wa has made over 500 referrals and received tips from individuals in 24 counties; an active youth advisory group (ages 10–25) contributed to program design and outreach.
Chang said the program is expanding outreach to targeted counties this year (Whatcom, Skagit, Benton, Franklin, Yakima) after initial focus on larger and rural counties. She emphasized the program is free and youth‑centered, and offered contact details and promotional materials for organizations that want to refer youth or publicize the service.
Task force members asked about youth advisory recruitment (Chang said the program used focus groups and received 261 applications in the first year) and whether the program reaches private and rural schools; Chang said outreach is ongoing and the team is small but planning targeted county engagement.