Friendship You Need, or FYN, was founded because teenagers are struggling. According to 2023 data from the CDC, 9 percent of high school students attempted suicide in 2023 alone. 20 percent of high school students seriously considered suicide, while about 40 percent of high schoolers experienced persistant hopelessness. Over 15 percent were bullied, 8.5 percent were raped, and 29.3 percent responded that their mental health was usually or always poor over the past thirty days. 38.5 percent are not close to anyone at school, and according to one large study, about 40 percent of kids lack strong emotional bonds with their parents. There is also substance abuse. There are fights. All of this is happening at a time when teenagers are dealing with changes that heighten their emotionality. With teenagers dealing with so much, it is no wonder that suicide is among the top 3 causes of death among middle and high school students.

FYN believes that these teenagers need someone to talk to - someone who cares, who is safe, and who they do not need to be afraid to connect with. We do everything that we can to facilitate those connections. We recruit and train volunteer mentors and match them with teenagers who we believe would be a good fit for them. We provide transportation to and from the meetings. We select safe locations for the meetings, such as public places (usually restaurants) or offices where other people will be present to monitor the interactions. We go overboard to ensure that those interactions are as safe as possible.

Teens can call us any time, day or night. We will dispatch a driver and a mentor as quickly as possible - ideally in less than an hour. We won't push them, but we will support them. We will provide a snack if they are hungry. We will listen to whatever is going on in their lives. Whether they are depressed, lonely, trapped, confused, or afraid, we would love to help. No teenager should be left feeling hopeless. No teenager should be left believing that nobody cares. We care.