Who We Are |
Lines for Life is a made up of multiple 24 hour crisis intervention hotlines. Along with providing crisis intervention, they also provide treatment referrals, counseling, resources, and educational programs. With providing care to at risk persons, they also provide care and resources to family members and friends of at risk persons. They are on the forefront of raising public awareness of the seriousness of substance abuse and suicide.
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Our History |
In 1993, three nonprofit organizations joined together to aid in what they thought was an unaddressed crisis in our community. They called this union The Oregon Partnership. They opened up a twenty-four hour crisis line to combat this crisis. In 2012, this partnership was renamed Lines for Life.
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Crisis Lines
- Suicide Lifeline
- Alcohol and Substance Abuse Helpline
- Military Helpline
- Youthline (Staffed by teens everyday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and also capable of texting)
If you or someone you know needs help
The need for crisis intervention
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BEcoming a volunteer
Because of the gravity of the situation when it comes to volunteering for Lines for Life there is always a need for caring individuals to volunteer their time. The volunteer process starts out with filling out an application and a background check. If your background check and application are accepted you advance to an in person interview with one of their on-staff clinical counselors. If the counselor agrees you are a good fit you attend four, 8 hour Saturday training shifts and one Saturday and Sunday weekend training shift. The training consists of immersion into the issues and lifestyles of the people you will be assisting. An in-depth look into Mental Health, Substance Abuse, Military, LGBTQ, and Teen issues is provided. Group workshops allow you to discuss a wealth of subjects and give you role playing experience for your time on the lines. When training is complete you are now ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Training) certified and can schedule three listening shifts. Listening shifts allow you to silently observe incoming calls and how the operator addresses issues. It is a wonderful insight that allowed me to see just how the lines work and what to expect before actually answering calls. You are now ready to start fulfilling your two-hundred hour commitment!
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My REsponsibilities as a volunteer
Unmet Needs
Plan to meet Need
- Actively engage my co-volunteers and learn from their techniques as well as share my own to create a more beneficial, diverse, melting pot of support
- Attend the monthly group counseling sessions to support my own self care as well as the self care of my co-volunteers. In the hopes of being competent and fully engaged for our callers.
- Volunteer my time, energy, and compassion in the hopes of reaching our callers and meeting them where they are and supporting them through whatever situation they are in.
- Walk in every morning to my shift and leave my judgments of others at the door. Callers can have an array of problems, some that I do not necessarily agree with. In this job, there is no room for judgement no matter the situation. It is my responsibility to offer non-biased, non-judgmental dialog.
Plan in Action
Out of all of my goals for volunteering, I have found that volunteering my time, attending the counseling sessions, and engaging my co-volunteers are the easiest. Throughout the course of a week, even with my hectic schedule I always can find a four hour block to volunteer. The monthly counseling sessions are a great way to share my experience and struggles and get support from others who know what I am experiencing. Along those same lines, there is always a few minutes of downtown to discuss what has worked and what has not worked on the lines between co-volunteers. The hardest goal to accomplish, that I have set for myself, is remaining non-judgmental and accepting of certain situations. I have noticed a few biases that I have while working on the lines. For me, there is a lot of alcohol and drug abuse in my family. I have a harder time empathizing with people who neglect others and themselves due to their addictions. Now that this has been made evident, I have started working on addressing this issue. At the very least, I now realize when this is occurring on calls and I understand why it is happening. Working on the lines has allowed me to come into contact with many people in recovery (a lot of volunteers are currently in recovery). This gives me the chance to see other viewpoints of addiction than my own and is helping me to understand better.
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Reflection
From my short time on the lines I have had the pleasure of interacting with more diversity than I have ever been exposed to in my life. I get to hear the deepest, darkest feelings and thoughts of complete strangers who do not even trust this information with their most trusted confidant. I have the privilege of being able to sit with them in whatever situation they may be in and show them the inner strengths they have forgotten they possess. At times, it is frightening and you can feel downright helpless. It can make you question yourself, your values, your biases, and everything you have ever learned. I have run the gamete of emotions while answering calls. I have encountered situations that have put me at a loss for words. It can be taxing to experience the amount of empathy it takes to answer these lines. At the end of the day, however, when I go home to my family I see things differently. When I walk down the street I interact with people differently. Even more than before volunteering, I realize that every person is dealing with their own personal demons and you never know just how deep that runs. My interactions with others are even more empathetic than I thought they could be. This experience has shown me to appreciate more, to respect more, and to understand and accept more. The struggles are real and serious and but they prepare me for so much more than just being able to answer more calls. The understanding that I have gained is something that cannot be learned it is something that must be experienced. Every day I am thankful for the opportunity to be on the volunteer side of the line because I know all too well how easy it is to be the caller. Lastly, I can to talk about my experience with others. In talking about my time volunteering I hope to get the word out about Lines for Life and the need for people to volunteer their time to this wonderful organization. I also get the opportunity to open up the dialog about subjects that most people shy away from. I get to talk about social stigma, mental health, suicide, and substance abuse. These subjects seems to get swept under the rug and/or avoided. I want to break the silence, talk about my experience and hopefully begin the process of ending stigma surrounding these very common issues.