THURSDAY'S CHILD, A National Charity for Endangered Youth

One thing that I have noticed is that all of the negative reviews on this organization tend to use the same words. This is why I don't like Great Nonprofits. They do not vet any of the reviewers. Anyone can make up an email address and you don't even have to confirm it.
That makes me realize that the negatives are all just another example of vindictive cancel culture.

I was referred to this number by another mental health hotline assistant and immediately I was super sketched out. The man who answered was super unprofessional and did not seem to understand what I was talking about. He started talking about his personal life and asking me lots of personal questions. I just assumed that maybe he was using some sort of distraction technique to get my mind off of being upset. He helped get my mind off of things until he started talking about racism. He said "there is not a lot of racism in this country" and that "Jews have it worse than black people" and something about people tearing down a Robert E. Lee statue or something of that sort. I was astonished at how this man could be so ignorant and unprofessional. I asked the organization's name and he asked me why and told me not to write a bad review. He sounded very threatening and I wanted to get off of the phone as soon as possible. I looked at the charity's website and it is very sketchy and gave me such an eerie feeling. Please do not support this "charity" or whatever it is.

To begin with I had to research what this organization was. I had received a voicemail on my work phone from their number. No real understanding for the call except to complain about not being able to get assistance as a local level government in California. Why my office #, I am not sure, there is nothing that my work has to do with this Charity or what they stand for. His message was rude and distasteful. I can understand someone having a bad day and getting frustrated, but place your frustrations where they belong, to the root cause not to someone who had to google your number to find out more about you before taking any additional actions. Seems unprofessional and not sure if I would recommend to anyone who was in need of help. 1st impressions are important and I am certain there are other organizations that have a similar support to those in need that can be professional, considerate and kind. Just not Thursday's Child.

I was on the streets after my parents kicked me out and wanted nothing to do with me. I called Thursday’s child and they were able to calm me down and guide me through what the next best decision would be.
Gave me great advice and help.

This non-profit should not be helping youth and the help line shut down. Very abrasive, angry and unprofessional one-man show who operated help line. Look online at courts cases against this individual and being delinquent in State of California Non-profit status and the facts will speak for themselves. In addition, it is very scary you are allowed to mail a 15 year old, 'Peyton', off their website. As with the two previous 1 star reviews, I could not agree more.

The website for this organization is odd and unprofessional. The page about suicide has a model with a noose around her neck?

The one man show running this "hotline" has called my workplace, harassing my staff and tying up our phones, out of what seems to be some sort of professional jealousy. I had a similar experience to the reviewer below and after researching the calls, discovered the website. Also, the positive reviews here have stock photos in their profile, were written the same day, and clearly are not authentic.

I sincerely hope anyone in need of help will reach out to a local crisis hotline or reputable national hotline instead of this place.

I work at an anonymous hotline and have received a couple calls from Thursday's Child. The first one just asked about our hours and what we did. The second call was horrendous. I answered what I could in reference to his query, at which point he became upset and started bringing race into the situation, put words into my mouth, and would not let me get a word in edgewise. I tried to end the call because I felt attacked, at which point he started talking about religion (uninvited), and called Christians and Muslims "scared of death" and "deniers of death," so he was bashing religions, at which time he said that he was a "God-fearing atheist," whatever that means. After all that, I told him that I needed to end the call because we need to leave the line open for persons in crisis, and he said, and I quote, "well I'm glad I'm preventing those calls."
I decided to call the number to report this harassment, but the same guy ended up picking up the phone. I asked for his name, he refused, and then I asked to speak to his superior or manager and he flat out said "No, you're talking to me." Then he hung up on me, very professional.
This is not a professional or kind man that is on the phones for this helpline. It scares me to think that he is talking to teens, and I hope that someone shuts down this crazy hotline.

Thursday's child hotline has been a great help to me. I have dealt with issues with my mental health , suicide attempts , eating disorders and was a victim of domestic violence. Thursdays child has always been there for me , giving me good advice and therapy. The person I talk to is proffessional and helpful and is always there when I need advice or just someone to talk to about some problem I'm facing. I highly reccommend it.

They helped me years ago when I had nowhere to turn.

After looking at the website for this hotline, I am beyond concerned.

First of all, their 17 year old "volunteer" Hunter, whom has a Facebook presence for the hotline and offers "live support" and even is "willing to be a friend", appears to be a fiction. You can find most of her Facebook photos on an actual model's website, Алена Аладко, whom has over 1000 FB friends.

http://www.thursdayschild.org/frames_dedication.htm

real model's website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000551518426

This alone, is creepy. But anyone with professional background in hotlines or a helping field will be able to see the other issues if they take the time to look.

From what I can tell, this hotline is a one or two person operation, which claims to help youth with almost ANY topic, without offering any information on how they train their volunteers (if they have any). They also spend a great deal of energy maligning other national hotlines on their website and focusing on the fact that they are not listed with 800 directory services, which is not how teens find phone numbers anymore. Very strange. I'm sure this was once an effective organization, but it seems to have derailed in a serious way. I hope any potential donors or volunteers will take the time to research this hotline first.

*As to Mr. Austen's comment added below, I am not from Missouri. I work for a hotline that Mr. Austen contacted several times, being somewhat rude to our volunteers and then telling us to add his hotline to our referral database. After visiting the website and finding the "volunteer" FB profile full of stolen photos, among other concerning things, I decided to write this review. The Facebook profile was removed after I reported it. However, any visitor to the website will be able to spot the other issues themselves. Since Mr. Austen only writes negative reviews of other organizations, he should work harder to make sure his own is above reproach.