A place to start again.
Two things in one app. An SOS button that matches you to a trained community member who has been where you are. And a reset button: an all-inclusive retreat to escape to, with real help waiting when you come back. Free if you cannot pay.
1 · Someone who gets it
A supporter matched to you, who is still there next week. Trained, with boundaries, and with someone supervising them.
2 · Somewhere to escape to
When the place you are in is part of the problem, a screened, welcoming stay away from it, with professional support nearby.
+ A plan so it sticks
Rent, work, debt, grief, health, loneliness. Real people responsible for real steps, written down with you.
You don't have to wait for ESCAPE. Help is open right now.
These services are free, confidential and staffed by trained people. Reaching out is a strong move, not a weak one.
Call or text 988
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 24 hours a day. Chat at 988lifeline.org. Veterans: press 1. Spanish: press 2.
Call 988Text HOME to 741741
Crisis Text Line connects you with a trained volunteer by text, any time. In the UK text SHOUT to 85258. In Canada text 686868.
Find your local line
findahelpline.com lists verified helplines by country. If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number.
Worried about someone else?
- Ask them directly and calmly whether they are thinking about suicide. Asking does not plant the idea.
- Listen more than you talk. You don't need the right words, you need to stay.
- Help them connect: offer to sit with them while they call or text 988.
- If they are in immediate danger, don't leave them alone. Call emergency services.
Calm. Private. Almost no effort to start.
Signing up, explaining yourself and choosing a stranger is too much to ask of someone who is already exhausted. So the first step is tiny.
You tap once
No account, no form, no profile. A quiet screen that says: you don't have to explain everything.
You say a few words, or type them
In your language. If you choose voice, your words are turned into a few need categories and the recording is deleted.
A short safety check
Clinically designed questions. If you are in danger, trained crisis responders join right away.
We suggest one person
A human team picks someone who fits what you said. You can say no and we'll suggest again. Nobody browses profiles.
That person stays with you
They carry the context, help build your Fresh Start Plan, and if a change of place would help, they walk you through a screened, supported stay and stay in touch for 90 days after.
You stay in control
- You choose text, voice or video
- You can say no to a suggested supporter and get another
- Nothing is shared with a partner without your consent, except where safety or the law requires
- No advertising, no tracking pixels, no selling data. Ever.
- You can pause or leave at any time
What ESCAPE is not
- Not a hospital, and not a replacement for one when you need it
- Not a dating app. Supporters are vetted and conversations are moderated
- Not a luxury resort. You don't need to be wealthy, attractive or outgoing to belong
- Not a promise that a trip fixes everything. Most people who use ESCAPE will never need a stay
We call them Angels. Every one is verified.
You never pick from a list. A human team suggests one person, and their role is shown plainly. Nobody pretends to be a clinician who isn't one.
An Angel is never expected to be your emergency lifeline. If a conversation turns urgent, qualified responders are a tap away and your Angel knows exactly how to bring them in.
Community Angel
A trained, supervised volunteer. Companionship, listening, community. Not therapy, and never alone with an emergency.
Certified Peer Specialist
Someone who has been through it themselves, with recognized peer-support training and a supervisor.
Licensed Professional
A verified therapist or clinician. Assessment, treatment and any decision that needs a license.
Navigator, the practical helper
Housing, work, benefits, debt, referrals, paperwork. A life coach can serve here, never as a mental-health professional.
If you have ever wanted to be the person who stays.
ESCAPE will open applications for Community Angels, Certified Peer Specialists, Licensed Professionals and Navigators in its first region before launch. Training is role-specific and supervision is real.
Tell us you're interestedWhat every applicant goes through
- Identity verification, relevant screening and references
- Training for the role: boundaries, reporting, what to do in an emergency
- Documented supervision and regular check-ins
- Clear service hours. You are never on call for emergencies
- Moderated in-app communication, no off-platform contact
Concept render of a partner-run ESCAPE ExperienceThe reset button: sometimes a change of place changes everything.
For some people the problem is the place: a destructive home, a town full of memories, nowhere safe to sleep. For them ESCAPE offers screened stays with partner programs that feel more like a friendly campus than an institution.
- Local Rest
- 1 to 7 nights. A brief, voluntary breather after an assessment.
- Restore
- 2 to 4 weeks. A supported break with structured recovery activities.
- Rebuild
- 1 to 3 months. Deeper work on community, employment and housing.
- Transition
- Ongoing. Follow-up and help living independently.
Stays are screened by a clinician, run by experienced people at an existing venue, travel included, and followed by 90 days of support at home from the same person. They are never a substitute for hospital care when that is what someone needs.
You don't have to be a clinician or a millionaire.
Become a monthly donor
$10 to $50 a month pays for peer support and follow-up calls. Small, regular gifts are what keep the lights on between big ones.
Spread the word safely
Share this site. When ESCAPE launches you'll get a kit of safe-messaging posts that always include a way to get help.
Share your skills
Design, legal, clinical, product, security, grant writing, film. The first year is built by people who give an evening a week.
Start a local chapter later
The long-term vision includes local chapters and a community of former guests who support others. One region first.
Plain answers.
Who qualifies?
For the first pilot: adults, living in the pilot region, who are struggling but not in acute crisis and do not need hospital care or supervised withdrawal. A clinician makes that call before any stay. People who need more urgent care are helped to reach it, not turned away.
How does someone get in?
Through the app, or through a partner such as a clinic or a community organization. One tap, a few words, a short safety check, then a human team suggests one person to talk to. A stay is offered only after that person and a clinician both think it would help.
How available is my support person?
Planned as set hours and regular check-ins, several a week during a stay and at least weekly for the 90 days after, with replies within a day. Not around the clock. Anything urgent goes to crisis responders at any hour, through the same app.
What if going home is not safe?
Then nobody sends you home. Housing partners arrange transitional accommodation, and your support person stays with you through the move. This is one of the situations the practical-help fund exists for.
Is it free?
The app and the supporters are free. A stay is free if you cannot pay. If you can, there is a fair, published price on a sliding scale, and decisions about help with the cost are made by people who are not the fundraisers. Nobody is turned away for money, and nobody is ever asked for money because of their state of mind.
Is this therapy?
Not by itself. Community Angels and Peer Specialists offer support, not treatment. Licensed Professionals in the network provide therapy within their license. ESCAPE connects you and keeps the relationship going; it doesn't pretend a listener is a clinician.
Will you call the police on me?
If you are in immediate danger, ESCAPE's protocol brings in trained crisis responders and, where there is no safer option, emergency services. That is the same standard established crisis lines follow. Mandatory-reporting rules that apply by law are followed and explained up front. Outside of danger, your conversations stay between you and your supporter.
Do I have to go to a retreat?
No. Most people who use ESCAPE will never need a stay. Experiences are for when a change of place would actually help, after a clinical screen, and only with your agreement.
Who can use it at launch?
Adults, in one US region first. We would rather look after a small number of people properly than open everywhere at once.
Can I use it to help a friend?
You can learn from it and point your friend to it when it opens. For now, the help-now section above is the fastest route. Asking someone directly whether they are thinking about suicide is safe and often a relief for them.
Do I have to fill in a long form or pick someone from a list?
No. One tap starts it. You can type or talk, and a human team suggests one person for you. You never browse a list of supporters, and nobody browses you.
Will AI decide things about me?
No. AI has one small job: turning what you say into a few categories so a person can match you well, and helping draft first messages that a clinician reviews. It never judges risk, never chooses who gets help, and never decides on a stay.
What happens after a stay?
You leave with a named person who stays in touch for 90 days and a practical plan with money attached to it: housing, work, debt, grief, health. If the plan is finished, you keep the community and can come back if things slip. If it is not finished, it is extended rather than dropped.
What happens to my data?
Minimum data collected, encrypted in transit and at rest, strict role-based access with audit logs, no advertising pixels, and no identifiable information in marketing or donor reporting. Consent, retention and deletion rules are written with lawyers and an independent security review happens before any sensitive conversation is allowed in the app.
When does it launch?
The first supported stays are being set up now with partners, planned for 2027, in one US city region first. Join the early list and you will hear first, including when Angel applications open.
Hear first. Help early.
Updates on the launch, Angel applications, volunteer roles and the first region. No spam, no selling your details.