Youth HelpRoom
RAINN’s Youth HelpRoom hosts online group chats for 14 to 24-year-old survivors of sexual violence. Chats are moderated for safety and anonymity.
Join the Youth HelpRoom’s next guided conversation for 14 to 24-year-old survivors of sexual violence. These moderated group chats are safe online spaces for learning and healing alongside peers who understand.
What to Expect
- Issues you care about
- Moderated by RAINN
- Separate chats for ages 14-17 and 18-24
- Anonymous and secure
- Share questions, thoughts, and feelings
- Get support and resources
Join A Youth HelpRoom Conversation
Consent & Boundaries
Thursday, August 28, 2025
7:00 AM – 8:30 AM EST
Youth reach out to RAINN often for education regarding consent and establishing boundaries, and what to do when something occurs that is non-consensual or crosses a boundary.
This session aims to support youth in understanding what consent is and isn’t, creating boundaries and ways to address their concerns.
Join the ConversationUnderstanding Your Experience
Sunday, September 28, 2025
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EST
Youth reach out to RAINN’s online hotline, telephone hotline and group chat services often to gain some understanding of what they have or are currently experiencing.
In this session, youth will be provided the opportunity to discuss their experiences, identify some of the common challenges youth face, and explore what it means to feel safe and supported in their lives.
Join the ConversationSafety Planning: Finding & Creating Safe Spaces
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
11:00 PM – 12:30 AM EST
Youth who experience sexual violence often feel they have limited access to safe spaces or safe people.
This session aims to support participants in finding and creating safety around their physical, mental and social health.
Join the ConversationCoping: Building Strength
Friday, November 28, 2025
7:00 AM – 8:30 AM EST
Survivors of sexual violence often experience symptoms that they find difficult to manage, feeling unstable, out of control, and alone. It can be scary for survivors to experience symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares and panic attacks because they’re often not aware that it’s a normal reaction to an abnormal event.
This session seeks to normalize those symptoms and assist visitors with increasing their knowledge and awareness of these challenges, where they come from, along with identifying coping methods to manage them.
Join the ConversationHealing: What is it and How Do We Heal
Sunday, December 28, 2025
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EST
Survivors of sexual violence often hear about recovery and the healing process, but tend to need support throughout their healing journey.
This session seeks to explore what healing is, how to start the healing process and challenges that occur on the healing journey.
Join the ConversationQuestions & Answers
Are Youth HelpRooms secure and confidential?
Yes. Here are a few of the ways RAINN keeps Youth HelpRoom discussions secure and confidential:
- We do not capture participants’ IP addresses, which means RAINN does not record evidence that you joined the Youth HelpRoom
- We do not save transcripts of Youth HelpRoom discussions
- We do not allow participants to reveal their names, ages, or locations
Who moderates Youth HelpRoom chats?
Trained RAINN moderators are present in every Youth HelpRoom to ensure everyone’s safety. Moderators enforce the ground rules, provide helpful resources, and help keep conversations on-topic and survivor-centered.
Can RAINN guarantee my safety online?
Unfortunately, no. We have taken extensive precautions to ensure your safety, but we cannot guarantee that someone will not invent a way to circumvent these protections. If you’re using a shared computer or think someone may be monitoring your online activity, please delete your history, cache, and cookies after participating in a Youth HelpRoom chat.
Who can I talk to when the Youth HelpRoom is closed?
If you need to talk with someone right away, RAINN can help. Get anonymous, confidential, 24/7 help from a trained support specialist:
Youth HelpRoom Ground Rules
These ground rules help ensure everyone’s safety and anonymity. If someone breaks a ground rule, a moderator will contact them privately to discuss the issue. Moderators will block messages that violate the ground rules.
- Mandatory reporting. RAINN staffers are mandatory reporters. If you share your name, age, or location in a Youth HelpRoom, the moderator may be legally required to file a report with local authorities.
- Anonymity. Do not share your name, age, location, email, social media, phone number, school, workplace, or other personal details. Do not reveal other people’s names or information, and do not ask for the names or information of anyone else in a Youth HelpRoom.
- Harmful language. Do not use language that may cause harm to others. Profanity (curse words), derogatory remarks (rudeness and bullying), and graphic descriptions of sexual violence are considered harmful language in the Youth HelpRoom.
- Conversation. Join the Youth HelpRoom conversation by sharing your thoughts and leaving space for others to share. Every survivor deserves kindness and care.
- Participation. If you have not participated in the chat for 10 minutes or longer and have not responded to the moderator, you will be disconnected from the Youth HelpRoom.
- The Youth HelpRoom does not provide medical or mental health care. If you are in a dangerous situation, call 9-1-1.
Disclaimer: The Youth HelpRoom does not provide psychological or behavioral health services. Please do not use the Youth HelpRoom as a substitute for professional healthcare. Please note that the Youth HelpRoom is intended for participants ages 24 and younger, depending on the chat topic. If you are in danger, call 9-1-1. If you or someone you care about is thinking about suicide, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or connect via their chat.