Letters to Strangers (L2S) is the largest global youth-run nonprofit seeking to destigmatize mental illness and increase access to affordable, quality treatment, particularly for young people.
L2S operates through three main pathways:
1) Therapy-informed anonymous letter-writing exchanges, where Chapters on school campuses and in local communities meet to discuss their letters afterward in a trained-peer environment. Chapters often collaborate with Partner Sites and organizations in the local area that serve underprivileged youth, such as orphanages and pediatric hospitals.
2) Science-based peer education curricula, including the recently published comprehensive, 80000-word youth-for-youth mental health guidebook - the first of its kind.
3) Grassroots policy-driven advocacy, spearheaded by Chapters forming student task forces that speak to school administrators and local lawmakers to push for mental health services and awareness.
Diana Chao founded L2S at age 14 after bipolar disorder nearly ended her life. Today, it is the largest global youth-for-youth mental health nonprofit, impacting over 35,000 people annually in over a dozen countries on six continents. Check out Diana’s TED Talk here.
To learn more about Letters to Strangers or to get involved, visit lettertostrangers.org.
Previous Spotlight Programs
