Our mission
Lean On Me strengthens communities by providing peer-to-peer text lines that allow for easy access to confidential non-crisis support. We envision a world where anyone can seek and receive emotional support.
Our chapter
Lean On Me at UC Berkeley is a chapter of Lean On Me, which was founded at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2015. To learn more about their impact or inquire about establishing a new chapter, visit their website here.
How our hotline works
Lean On Me allows students to talk to trained peer Supporters in a convenient and anonymous setting. To learn more about our training process, please click here.
1. Text our hotline
Text UC Berkeley's hotline number whatever you’d like to talk about! This can range from brief messages such as “All of my friends are busy and I want someone to talk to” to a longer, more serious message. Our Supporters are here to listen and be there for you - the topic is your choice!
3. Receive a reply
The expected wait time is just under 5 minutes. While the service is available at any time, please remember that Supporters are your peers, who lead their own busy lives and occasionally remember to sleep. So the wait time for a conversation sent in at 4:30 AM may be longer, and we thank you for understanding that!
5. End the conversation
Conversations last for as long as you would like them to, and you can end a conversation with a Supporter at any time by texting “/bye” to the hotline. If you text again you will be matched with a new Supporter and they will not see what you wrote before.
2. Match with a Supporter
Once a text is received, all active Supporters will be informed that a request has come in, and within a few minutes you will be matched with one!
4. Have a conversation
You can now have a conversation with the Supporter! Feel free to text for as long as you like. If you ever feel uncomfortable with a Supporter text “/flag”, and we’ll match you with another! For a full list of commands, text “/help” to the hotline. Supporters never see your slash commands.
6. Provide feedback
Once a conversation ends, you will be asked to provide feedback, helping make the service better for future users. By no means is this mandatory, but we would really appreciate it. Your input will have a very real effect on the future of Lean On Me, and on changes we make to the service!
Meet our team
Sophia (she/her) is a junior studying Molecular and Cell Biology and minoring in Data Science. She loves to go on hikes with her dogs and go on boba dates with friends to destress. She's also a big fan of rants and healthy cries to let all the emotions out- and is ALWAYS happy to listen!
Sophia Siopack
Chapter Coordinator
Robbie (he/him) is a junior at UC Berkeley and studies psychology. He likes to meet new people and has a lot of fun working with Lean On Me. He loves to destress with some easygoing exercise like swimming. He also really likes to play video games and watch horror movies!
Robert Brown
Recruitment Coordinator
Idalys (she/her) is a sophomore majoring in Psychology and minoring in Education. She's a huge lover of sour candies and matcha ice cream while watching movies from Pride and Prejudice to Adam Sandler comedies. To destress, she listens to Taylor Swift and bakes her heart out. She loves all animals, and owns 2 cats, a lizard, and a dog!
Idalys Cuaderno
Supporter Coordinator
Mikaela (she/her) is from Los Angeles and is a sophomore studying psychology. She is a research assistant for a developmental psychology lab at Berkeley and loves watching romantic comedy movies. To detress, she likes to listen to music, go to the beach, and make jewelry!
Mikaela Harnoy
Training Coordinator
Madeline (she/her) is a fourth year from Sacramento, CA studying Nutritional Science. She loves the outdoors, soccer, baking, yoga, and hiking and is excited to study abroad in the Netherlands in the spring.
Madeline Burns
Marketing Coordinator
Ashley (she/her) is a junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Clinical and Counseling Psychology. She loves hiking and baking, and recently picked up painting over the pandemic! One of her favorite things to do to destress is to go for long drives with her friends and talk for hours on end. Lean on Me has been so much fun, and she is so excited to be on the exec team this semester!
Ashley Taira
Finance Coordinator
Mikaela Castillo
Recruitment Coordinator
Mikaela (she/her) is a sophomore studying Cognitive Science and minoring in Computer Science. She loves going to the movie theater and gossipping over pop culture with her friends. She is passionate about mental health and is excited to help Lean on Me create a supportive environment between peers at UC Berkeley!
Our impact
