The Arkansas Crisis Center has announced that the Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas has awarded funding to develop AR Teen Connect, a unique, prevention-focused mental health program launching in early 2026.
Through the state’s 988 text-to-chat line, ACC receives hundreds of messages each month from Arkansas teens with many reaching out quietly in moments of fear, isolation or uncertainty, often long before they would consider calling a crisis hotline or confiding in an adult.
ACC leaders say the pattern is consistent: youth are struggling earlier and more silently, under cultural pressures no previous generation has experienced. While adults may recognize rising stress, youth often move through emotional stages differently…