People who call Contact Community Services during an emotional or mental health crisis will see some changes as their ‘Hotline’ becomes a ‘Warmline’. It’s intended to be a better way to use local and national resources.
The Contact hotline was a place where people who felt lonely, depressed, overwhelmed or stressed could call and talk things out. The organization now finds that in a true emergency, the 988 national hotline is a resource for suicidal and other crisis situations.
Program coordinator Stephanie Grandjean believes they can fill another role. “A lot of times people were reaching out because they wanted a safe space to talk, they were isolated, maybe socially disconnected, going through something difficult, and they wanted that safe, non-judgmental space.”
She added the Warmline might appeal to someone who is not comfortable calling a crisis line.
Stuart Groom is a volunteer who tries to connect with callers to help them talk out their difficulties. He might start a conversation, “So oh, you're feeling really upset, you're something's really bothering you, you must be really frustrated by that, or you're feeling overwhelmed,” said Groom. “And the thing is, is we all, we're all human. We've all felt these kind of emotions ourselves.”
He said 99 times out of 100 you can bring that person down out of their frustration through a caring conversation. Groom started volunteering after recalling a friend’s suicide, wondering if he might have helped.
“The question of why do I continue to do it is, I get after every shift, you feel you've helped somebody. You know you've made an impact on other people's lives. And I think that is absolutely incredible.”
Executive Director Antara Mitra said funding challenges led to a change in strategy.
“You know, it's a difficult time for not-for-profits. We are seeing an increasing need amongst people with rising anxiety, rising problems everybody's facing with, you know, our youth are really suffering. So we're really trying to step up and meet the needs in whatever limited fashion we are able to, said Mitra.
She added that Contact has been around for 55 years helping people manage personal issues and connect with community resources.
Contact is seeking more volunteers for the Warmline. Grandjean says the commitment is 12 hours-a-month or more, with a minimum of three 4-hour shifts-per-month.
“We're really looking to make this community connections program, as we're talking about it, volunteer-based. So volunteers would be responding to our warm line and also helping make our outbound calls to isolated seniors who need a social connection.
Volunteers go through a training period in which they learn active listening, reflecting feelings. The final piece of training involves sitting in with an experienced call volunteer.
Upcoming in-person and remote info sessions:
• Tuesday, May 19, at 11 a.m. at Contact Community Services’ large conference room
• Wednesday, May 20, at 7 p.m. via Zoom
• Wednesday, May 27, at 7 p.m. via Zoom
• Friday, May 29, at 11 a.m. at Contact Community Services’ large conference room
For more information about volunteering or the training sessions, email: contact@contactsyracuse.org .
The Warmline hours will be Mon-Fri, 7:00am to 3:00pm. Contact will continue to handle 211 calls to help people with essential needs, such as housing, food and financial hardship.
