Two years ago, the city of Seattle signed a $2 million contract with Talk Space to provide free virtual therapy to young people.&nbsp;The city projected that as many as 4,400 young people would use it.&nbsp;But a few years into the contract, <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/mental-health/seattles-talkspace-deal-for-youth-therapy-falls-short/">it&rsquo;s only reached a fraction of that</a>.&nbsp;Seattle Times reporter Jayati Ramakrishnan and Rebecca Plevin with Proof News <a href="https://www.proofnews.org/millions-spent-few-served-seattles-talkspace-deal-for-youth-therapy-falls-short/">teamed up to tell this story</a>. Vote for Seattle Now&nbsp;<a href="https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/shows/genre/local-news">to win a Signal Listener's Choice Award!</a> We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. <a href="https://donate.kuow.org/donate/seattlenow">Tap here</a> to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed.&nbsp; Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:seattlenow@kuow.org">seattlenow@kuow.org</a>, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or <a href="https://www.kuow.org/feedback">leave us feedback online</a> or on <a href="https://meet.kuow.org/question/">the KUOW App.</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Two years ago, the city of Seattle signed a $2 million contract with Talk Space to provide free virtual therapy to young people. The city projected that as many as 4,400 young people would use it. But a few years into the contract, it’s only reached a fraction of that. Seattle Times reporter Jayati Ramakrishnan and Rebecca Plevin with Proof News teamed up to tell this story.

Young people aren't using the city's free therapy

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