For over thirty years TEEN LINE, a teen-to-teen hotline with an extensive outreach program, has been at the forefront of helping troubled adolescents cope with many issues and concerns including self-injury, bullying and suicide. Our trained teens answer calls, emails and texts non-judgmentally, helping their peers explore options and offering referrals to community resources or, many times, just listening.
Following the tragic death of his 18 year old son Matthew, who had taken his own life, we met Ron Silverman. Despite his own devastation he became involved with TEEN LINE to work towards a common goal – provide a resource for teens in crisis and to raise awareness about suicide. Ron Silverman volunteers his time as a speaker for TEEN LINE and he is a vital part of the suicide prevention and sensitivity training TEEN LINE provides to the LAPD Juvenile Division and other adolescent-serving agencies. In April, 2014 Ron spoke in a special Teen Suicide Prevention presentation at the American Association of Suicidology Annual Conference. This event is attended by participants from programs dealing with suicide both nationally and internationally. Ron and the TEEN LINE teen suicide prevention break-out session received an outstanding evaluation.
To honor his son’s memory, Ron Silverman created The Matthew Silverman Memorial Golf Classic and designated TEEN LINE to be a beneficiary. This inaugural event took place on April 22nd, 2013 at El Caballero Country Club. 130 golfers participated in the tournament, netting nearly $300,000 to directly support TEEN LINE’s programs. The Second Annual Golf Classic occurred on April 21st, 2014. This, too, was an outstanding success. TEEN LINE is indebted to Ron, his Committee and the Charity Angels for their hard work and dedication which is enabling us to expand our important community service. The funding provided by the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation has allowed TEEN LINE to launch a cyber outreach program by creating a new website and a resource app, produce a teen suicide prevention video that is receiving amazing reviews from all who have viewed it, and provide Strategic Planning and leadership guidance to help guide the future of TEEN LINE.
The TEEN LINE Board of Directors, staff and volunteers are incredibly grateful to Ron Silverman and the Matthew Silverman Memorial Golf Classic Committee and the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation for the support they raised for our hotline, outreach efforts and programs. We cannot thank the sponsors and donors enough for helping TEEN LINE to remain a valuable resource for teens in crisis that rely on our services and an incredible experience for the teens that volunteer.
THANK YOU!
Elaine Leader, Ph.D.
Executive Director
TEEN LINE is a 501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization | Federal Tax Identification #95-3760982