“I first discovered The Coffee Oasis when I was a sophomore in 2019, and by then I had pretty big issues with bottling up my feelings. Having dealt with stress from an abusive and dysfunctional family, and loneliness at school, I never had anyone to talk to. I felt pretty lonely and sad, but tried to repress those feelings.

But with The Coffee Oasis, I finally had someone to talk to and get my biggest emotional burdens off my chest—like my abusive brother who mocked me for being autistic as well as an abusive counselor who constantly criticized and shamed me. I also didn’t really have friends at school, so the crisis text line provided one of my only outlets for being able to enjoy talking about myself as well as my autistic identity without being judged.

While I do admit in recent months, it has been difficult to talk to certain people on the text line, and there was some advice I didn’t like, I did find the support of caring people. One of the people who operates the text line is my own personal case manager—she helps me with my personal goals such as finding a job and enjoying life.”