Hot-line volunteers ready to listen, help

A single phone call may not seem like a big deal, but to someone in crisis, that contact can mean the difference between life and death.

So it might sound counterintuitive that many of the people who staff hot-line centers are volunteers, not dedicated social workers.

Not so, say specialists in the prevention field. Volunteers can provide the same kind of empathic approach to people in need as a professional. Those who would like to volunteer their time to a local hot line need only complete the required training sessions.

“Volunteers are every bit as good as paid staff. They get the same skills,” says Tim Jansen, crisis center division chairman for the District-based American Association of Suicidology (AAS).

Sometimes, volunteers even outperform their professional peers.

“When somebody volunteers their time for anything, they have a passion for it,” Mr. Jansen says.

A hot line — be it for drug, child or physical abuse — often involves a blend of volunteer and professional staffers.

Two organizations, the AAS and Indiana-based Contact USA, oversee and accredit the bulk of the hot lines across the country, says Mr. Jansen, who is an accreditation site examiner.

Approved hot lines typically offer training, educational sessions and role-playing scenarios to help give volunteers the proper information, Mr. Jansen says. These sessions feature information on addiction, suicide and other social ills, but the biggest lessons involve compassionate listening, he says.

At Virginia-based CrisisLink, anyone 21 years old and older can apply online (www.crisislink.org) to volunteer. Next, the volunteers must take 50 hours of training.

CrisisLink Executive Director Carol Loftur-Thun says the key lesson taught to volunteers is how to be an active, or empathic, listener.

“It helps [the caller] clarify what’s going in their lives,” Ms. Loftur-Thun says. “It’s empowering them to draw on their own strengths. Providing support and empathy helps people process some of their own feelings.”

Margaret Mathis, CrisisLink’s director of hot-line services and training, says active listening “is like learning a new language.”

“In our society, we’re taught to fix a problem. Active listening takes another approach,” Ms. Mathis says.

It can take some time before that message gets through to new volunteers.

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