You Can Call Us

You found out about us while you were sitting in a bathroom stall. You saw our name on a flyer in the Campus Center or in the stairway of your dorm. We gave you our phone number and our AIM. You may have taken note of our rhyming name—Ears for Peers (E4P)—and our tagline: “Here to listen.” However, you might have had some lingering questions about Tufts’ completely confidential peer support hotline: Who answers the calls? How are we different from Counseling Services? Why are we here?

Ears for Peers was founded in 1988 by a Tufts student and a group of her friends. They recognized students' need for a peer-driven support system on campus and an outlet to talk about issues that they find easier to discuss anonymously with a peer than with a family member, a friend or a professional.

Ears for Peers now receives an average of 100 calls and IMs per semester from students who are experiencing various challenges, including depression, coming to terms with their sexual identity, trying to get over an ex-partner or hook-up or fighting with a roommate. These are only a few examples; students can (and do) call us about anything that is on their minds! Our anonymity allows callers to feel comfortable sharing with us; we will never ask who you are, and you won’t know the identity of the Ear who answers your call— just that we care about you. We are here first and foremost to listen and to empathize and, when it’s helpful, to refer callers to additional resources. Our volunteers are current Tufts students who have actively sought out the position. To apply, we fill out applications, are interviewed by current E4P members and, once accepted, are trained by Counseling and Mental Health Services. We come from different class years, majors and campus groups, but all of us have in common a desire to connect with our peers, offering support when they feel most alone.

We all have felt alone or overwhelmed or homesick or confused or scared sometimes during our college careers. These issues in students’ lives—relationships, failed exams, fear of not finding a job— can be debilitating, especially because we are compelled to cope with these issues on top of our other commitments.

That isn’t even to mention those other prevalent and often unacknowledged occupants of college campuses: chronic anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders and trauma resulting from sexual assault, to name only a few. We don’t speak enough about mental health issues, even though the majority of us will experience them firsthand during our college careers. In a survey conducted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 73 percent of college student respondents reported having experienced a mental health crisis while in college. In the same survey, peer-to-peer support and mentoring was ranked as being extremely important by 61 percent of respondents.

When we are confronted with issues that unsettle our mental and emotional health, there is power in having someone to talk to—in having someone listening to us. According to researcher and author Brené Brown, who has made a career out of studying vulnerability, shame and authenticity, “if we can share our story with someone who responds with empathy and understanding, shame can't survive.”

When you are unable to fall asleep and it’s 4 a.m. and you need someone to talk to, dial our number. When you’re ready to say something out loud for the first time, but not to anyone who knows you, we’re here. When you’re having a panic attack at 6 a.m. about an exam, we will be there for you. Our hope is that wherever you are on campus and whatever issue you are coping with, when faced with the thought, “I really need to talk to someone about this, but I don’t know who,” you will know that you can call us.

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Ears for Peers operates every night between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. You can reach us by calling (617) 627-3888 or messaging us through AIM at "tuftsE4P." For more information, you can find us on Facebook as “Tufts Ears for Peers” or visit our website: http://ase.tufts.edu/earsforpeers/. If you are interested in joining Ears for Peers, e-mail ears4peers@gmail.com for more information.