"The hotline is a public art project created by West Side Elementary, a K-6th public school in rural Healdsburg, California. It's called PEPTOC and you can give it a call for free by dialing 707-8PEPTOK (707-873-7862). The program was started in 2022 by two teaching artists at the school, Jessica Martin and Asherah Weiss. According to their website, they have received over 25 million calls since its creation and have a higher call volume than 911 calls to Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Miami combined."
"This week, journalist Josh White shared that he found a hotline where elementary school students give pep talks, and when he tried the service on camera, he couldn't help but tear up as kids told him that he was loved and doing a great job. The video quickly went viral as kids told him, "You can do it!" and "Keep trying, don't give up!" and "Be grateful for yourself.""
Many people face heightened stress during the darkest, coldest time of year. West Side Elementary in Healdsburg, California created a public art hotline called PEPTOC offering free pep talks. Calls connect to prerecorded elementary student messages with menu options for frustration, life advice, kindergarten pep talks, laughter, Spanish pep talks, compliments, and bonus advice. The program launched in 2022 and was created by teaching artists Jessica Martin and Asherah Weiss. The service has received over 25 million calls and outpaces 911 call volume in several major U.S. cities combined. Viral videos show listeners moved by children's affirmations like "You can do it!" and "Keep trying, don't give up!"
Read at Scary Mommy
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