Gaggle Launches 24/7 Student Crisis Line, Powered by AWS, and Staffed by Trained Crisis Counselors

Students Experiencing an Emotional Crisis Can Receive Immediate Support from Crisis Support Team via Text, Chat, or Phone–Anytime, Anywhere

Gaggle’s new ReachOut student crisis line has launched and is rolling out to K-12 districts nationwide, helping schools immediately support students with live, trained crisis counselors.

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Today’s youth continue to struggle with their mental and emotional health. They often don’t have a trusted adult they can reach out to. The CDC released a harrowing report on February 13, 2023 noting the severity of the student mental health and safety crisis. Mental health among students overall continues to worsen, with more than 40% of high school students feeling so sad or hopeless that they could not engage in their regular activities for at least two weeks during the previous year. In 2021, 22% of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide, while 18% made a suicide plan during the past year.

To help fight our nation’s youth mental health crisis, Gaggle ReachOut, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), provides in-the-moment support from crisis-trained counselors for students experiencing anxiety, depression, bullying, abuse, and suicide ideation. Gaggle ReachOut was built on AWS and utilizes Amazon Connect, an easy-to-use, cost-effective, omnichannel cloud contact center.

School districts are assigned their own dedicated “crisis line number”, which is set up to receive communication from students via text, web-based chat, or phone –  whichever the student prefers. Gaggle’s dedicated trained crisis counselors offer timely support for students – someone who listens, cares, and offers ways to de-escalate situations and impulsive behavior 24/7.

“During every step of our research and implementation phases, the ReachOut team was there to support in a variety of ways. Their entire team made sure our district team requirements and our students needs were at the forefront. Shortly after our launch date, the district found itself dealing with a tragedy. The entire ReachOut team was there for our entire school community, ready to provide as much support as possible. We are thankful to have ReachOut as another layer of SEL support for our students,” said Ryan MacKeller, Director of Technology at Pembroke School District.

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“True to our mission of saving lives and keeping kids safe, we now provide students with access to a real person who can listen to them when they are struggling with a mental or emotional challenge,” said Jeff Patterson, CEO and Founder of Gaggle. “ReachOut offers immediate, around the clock support to students. At the end of the day, kids need to feel loved. ReachOut does just this by providing a human connection that is often missing in today’s highly digital and disconnected world.”

“We were proud to be working with Gaggle in their efforts to help schools expand access to mental health support for students. These additional support systems are needed, now more than ever, with the growing mental health challenges our youth are experiencing today,” said Annmarie Lehner, K-12 Business Development & Strategy Leader at AWS.

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