The number of volunteers for the Crisis Line is increasing along with the call volume and intensity.
In 2020, Crisis Line Responders in Interior Health spend 450,000 minutes providing empowering support, skilled assessment, and crisis de-escalation, which is a record since the service started in 2012. The 450,000 minutes was a 47% increase over 2019.
“Fortunately, not only are we experiencing a significant increase in call volume and call intensity, we are also receiving an increase in people reaching out to volunteer as well as funding opportunities to support important improvements to the service”, says Manager of the Wiliams Lake Interior Crisis Line Network site Heather Silvester.
The Interior Crisis Line Network provides 24/7 phone support on four services, including the regional crisis line, the provincial mental health line, the provincial suicide line, and the national suicide prevention service.
March 22nd to March 28th is Crisis line Awareness week.