YouthLine Hawaiʻi is a youth-to-youth crisis line serving young people ages 10 to 24 on Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi. It is part of YouthLine, the peer crisis service operated by Lines for Life that has served approximately 25,000 young people each year nationally.
What makes YouthLine different from other crisis services is the peer model: when a young person calls, texts or chats, they are connected with a trained volunteer who is close to their own age — someone who can meet them not as an authority figure or a clinician, but as a peer.
This Mental Health Awareness Month, as Lines for Life also celebrates AANHPI Heritage Month, we’re spotlighting YouthLine Hawaiʻi. This program brings culturally responsive, peer-driven, mental health support to young people in one of the most underserved regions in the country.
“I think what makes it really special is on the other end of the line, when youth are reaching out for help, they’re going to reach someone who is their age, or close to, and really the power and impact of connecting with someone who understands a little bit better.” — Ashley Tone, Assistant Director of Outreach and Education, YouthLine Hawaiʻi
YouthLine Hawaiʻi is based in Kahului, at the offices of Imua Family Services, and is supported by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health. Its 12 volunteers completed an intensive 65-hour training process, covering self-awareness, active listening, active communication, and certified courses including Youth Mental Health First Aid. Each volunteer works a three-hour shift once a week, with clinical supervision and support.
Why It Matters for AANHPI Youth
Maui County is home to one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse communities in the country. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth, along with young people from across the AANHPI diaspora, make up a significant portion of the population — and face mental health challenges often shaped by cultural factors standard crisis services are not designed to address.
Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth in Hawaiʻi. A University of Hawaiʻi study of wildfire survivors found more than half of keiki reported depression, and nearly half of young people ages 10 to 17 were experiencing PTSD in the years following the 2023 Maui wildfires. On islands like Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi, access to in-person mental health services is extremely limited.
The cultural dimensions of mental health in AANHPI communities are well-documented: stigma, family expectations, the pressure to appear resilient, and a deep reluctance to seek help outside the family or community. YouthLine’s peer model is designed to meet those realities by offering a free, confidential, nonjudgmental space where young people can talk to someone who relates to their world.
Cross-cultural training is built into YouthLine’s volunteer program — for volunteers in both Oregon and Hawaiʻi — to help ensure every young person who reaches out feels seen, heard, and understood regardless of their background.
YouthLine Hawaiʻi launched with the support of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, whose initial $100,000 grant was essential in getting the program off the ground. In February 2026, the Maui Recovery Funders Collaborative — including Maui United Way and Kaiser Permanente — awarded an additional $100,000 to expand the program’s reach.
That expansion funding is part of a broader, coordinated effort to rebuild mental health infrastructure in the wake of the 2023 Maui wildfires — the deadliest in the United States in over a century. For young people who lost their homes, their community and, in some cases, people they loved, access to peer support is not a luxury. It is a lifeline.
“Partners across Maui are determined to build stronger mental health and wellness for young people across the county, and YouthLine is honored to be a part of this vitally important work.” — Dwight Holton, CEO, Lines for Life
With the new funding, YouthLine Hawaiʻi will expand peer-to-peer crisis support services for Maui youth impacted by the wildfires, strengthen local staffing and volunteer engagement, support schools and youth-serving organizations with mental health awareness programming and provide outreach to communities across Maui County.
Ayla, one of YouthLine Hawaiʻi’s first volunteers, put it simply:
“YouthLine is a place where you can talk without being judged. You don’t have to be in a crisis to reach out. Sometimes you just need to vent about a rough day and have someone really listen. Volunteering with YouthLine lets you support other youth, build real skills, and be part of a community that genuinely cares about helping others.”
That is exactly what mental health support for everyone looks like. Not just for some communities. Not just in some places. For everyone — including keiki on Maui, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.
Learn more about YouthLine’s work in Hawaiʻi at theyouthline.org.
