Text-a-Tip
In this day and age of young adolescents struggling with depression, bullying, social struggles, suicide ideation, drug and alcohol abuse, difficult family situations or any of the other many challenges they face today, we are committed to ensuring students have the tools to ask for help for themselves or others at all times.
Students are able to use a text messaging system to reach out for help for themselves or friends at any time of day or night. Text-a-Tip allows teens to find anonymous, immediate help if they are struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, depression, difficult family situations, bullying, etc. Text-a-Tip is a community wide initiative that includes District 225 and the other local middle schools because we are all committed to supporting our students. Text-a-Tip is staffed with local counselors provided by LEAD (Linking Efforts Against Drugs), a non-profit organization focused on promoting healthy family relationships and preventing alcohol and drug use and other risky behaviors by youth.
How it works: Anyone who texts "WINK" or "FIELD" to 1-844-823-5323 will receive an immediate text response from a trained, professional counselor provided by LEAD (Linking Efforts Against Drugs). The response team consists of licensed/certified mental health professionals from The Child, Adolescent, and Family Recovery Center in Lake Bluff. They are local clinicians who already understand the needs of our communities.
Thanks to a system that routes calls through a cloaking server, texters are completely anonymous, allowing teens freedom to reach out for help without fear. In the case of a life-threatening condition, emergency responders will be notified and be given as much information as is available to help the person in need. Text-a-Tip is available for communication of any kind of concern, though it is primarily intended for community members to use when they need immediate mental health assistance or have a drug/alcohol abuse concern for themselves or a friend. Please note that adults may also use the service to report concerns. We encourage anyone who has identified a concern to immediately reach out for help for themselves or others.
