The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) has disbanded the staff of its helpline and will replace them with an AI chatbot called “Tessa” starting June 1. The decision comes on the heels of the staff’s decision to unionize after a slew of pandemic-era calls led to mass staff burnout. The six paid employees oversaw a volunteer staff of roughly 200 people, who handled calls (sometimes multiple ones) from nearly 70,000 people last year.
NEDA officials told NPR the decision had nothing to do with the unionization. Instead, said vice president Lauren Smolar, the increasing number of calls and largely volunteer staff was creating more legal liability for the organization and wait times for people who needed help were increasing.
