|
|
Greetings!
CrisisLink is doing more than ever to help
those in need. Thank you for helping us be
there for all those facing hard times. It
wouldn't be possible without you at our side.
 |
|
|
Spotlight on: You Talk, We Listen
Young people are experiencing increasingly
higher levels of stress related to school,
family issues, and now the financial crisis.
Stress can
lead to depression, anger, sadness, and
sometimes thoughts of suicide.
Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death
among young
people ages 15-24 in the U.S. In fact, over
the last year, CrisisLink has answered
53% more calls from youth and seen a
271% increase in calls from youth over the
last 5 years. Last year, CrisisLink answered
5,314 calls from youth in the D.C.
Metropolitan region.
CrisisLink's You Talk, We Listen youth
outreach initiative, offers teens and young
adults the resources they need to get help
for themselves or someone else when faced
with issues that cannot be handled alone.
Our You Talk, We Listen outreach
initiative includes
the distribution of wallet cards to students
at area elementary, middle, and high school,
to ensure students have our hotline
numbers when they need them the most. Our
crisis & suicide prevention hotlines are
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365
days a year to people of all ages, in all
stages of crisis. Last year, CrisisLink
distributed enough wallet cards to reach
180,000 Fairfax County Public School
students, and thousands more in Arlington,
Alexandria, and Loudoun.
Our youth outreach also includes workshops and
training programs in suicide prevention,
depression awareness, and more. They are
conducted for students, as well as
counselors, teachers, and others who interact
with young people on a regular basis.
With a new school year upon us, we want to
ensure that students, teachers, and parents
have the necessary resources and information
available to handle any crisis that may
occur.
Most recently, CrisisLink launched the Friend
Campaign to encourage young people throughout
the community to pledge to be a friend when
someone they know is facing a hard time and
to give the number or make the call to
1-800-273-TALK. In conjunction with National
Suicide Prevention Week, CrisisLink and local
businesses will be holding a series of events
to raise awareness for our critical suicide
prevention services. To learn more, please
click here.
Request Free Wallet Cards Featuring
Hotline Numbers & Tips
To request wallet cards, please e-mail
information@crisislink.org or call
703-516-6778. Wallet cards are available in
bundles of 50.
Host a Workshop or Training Program on
Youth Suicide Prevention and/or Depression
Awareness
For more information and to schedule a
workshop, please contact cecr@crisislink.org
or 703-516-6771.
To learn more about CrisisLink's full range of programs, click here.
|
|
|
|
|
Hotline Success Story
CrisisLink's hotlines in action
Feeling depressed, lonely, and completely
isolated, a 16-year-old girl named Adrienne
called
CrisisLink late one evening. Adrienne said that
she had had a terrible fight with her best
friend and was certain they would never
speak again.
Uninspired by
school, Adrienne said that recently she had
not been
attending class or completing any schoolwork
and was in trouble with both her teachers and
her parents. She found it ironic that she had
many of the material things that should bring
happiness to anyone, but those things weren't
helping. She was considering hanging herself
and mentioned that she had recently
lost a classmate to suicide.
Using her extensive training in crisis
prevention,
CrisisLink's volunteer Hotline Listener
talked with Adrienne for over an hour, helping
to de-escalate her and help her find a
reason for living. Adrienne said that
she wanted to see a therapist, but was worried
about how her parents might react to such a
request. CrisisLink's volunteer Hotline
Listener helped Adrienne develop a plan for
talking to her parents. Adrienne decided
that she
would wake her parents, talk to them honestly
about how she was feeling and about the
difficulties she'd been experiencing. She said
that her parents were good people and that
once over the shock of her suicidal thoughts,
she was sure they would get her the help she
needed.
*To protect the anonymity of the callers,
some elements have been changed/withheld.
To learn more about becoming a volunteer Hotline Listener, click here.
|
|
|
|
|
CrisisLink Joins Forces with Area Businesses, Musicians to Raise Awareness for Suicide Prevention
CrisisLink and members of the community have
joined forces to shine a spotlight on suicide
prevention during National Suicide Prevention
Week, September 6-12. Local officials,
musicians, restaurants, businesses, and
volunteers have donated their time, money,
services, and gifts to support CrisisLink's
suicide prevention efforts. You can support
CrisisLink's mission to prevent suicide by
telling your friends, family, and networks
about National Suicide Prevention week.
Click
here for a list of National Suicide
Prevention week events, information, and details.
Click
here to visit the Friend Campaign web
site.
Click
here to buy a Friend t-shirt and show
your support!
Are you interested in
volunteering?
Please contact
Lindsay Paulette-Chapman by
email or at 703-527-6016.
|
|
Thank you for your support!
|
|
Julia Fiorio and Kelly Flanigan, this year's
Got Hope Walkathon organizers, discuss their
reasons for getting involved and raising
money to support CrisisLink.