neighbors
Help is aText Away
Jill Smolowe volunteers to save lives on the Crisis Text Line WRITTENBYCINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
The messages tothe national hotline are distressing , and constant : “ I just can ’ t go on .” “ I don ’ t understand why I ’ m here .” “ My boyfriend left me and Idon ’ tknow what to do .”
Four hours per week , Montclair resident Jill Smolowe responds tothese calls for help , listening and empathizing until the person incrisis is calm and has aplan for feeling better . With ayear ’ s experience behind her , she sometimes handles more than one conversation at once . And she does it all from her living room — via texting .
Smolowe , awriter and grief and divorce coach , was looking for asatisfying volunteer experience when she learned of the Crisis Text Line , anonprofit launched in 2013 that operates 24 / 7for people in crisis .” Users of the service text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the country , and are connected to trained volunteers committed to “ bringing them from ahot place to a calm cool place ,” says Smolowe .
The concept struck her as awonderful idea . Asthe mom of amillen- nial daughter , she knew that trying to communicate with young people via text — roughly 75percent of the site ’ s users are younger than 25 — can be more effective than talking over the phone .“ There ’ sanadded layer ofprivacy , because with aphone line , your voice isthere ,” she says .
Statistics back up her enthusiasm for the site ’ s possibilities : As of October , Crisis Text Line had exchanged roughly 49 million
Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the US , anytime , about any type of crisis .
HowItWorks
Alive , trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds quickly .
The volunteer Crisis Counselor will help you move from a hot moment to acool moment . messages . Usage increased sharply after Facebook began sending information about the site to users who talked about harming themselves .
Currently , 3,500 active crisis counselors have stepped up to meet the demand . Volunteers undergo arigorous process before being approved ;
SMOLOWE after applying online , they must pass acriminal background check and submit three personal recommendations from friends and colleagues . They then take 40 hours of remote online training , and need toscore well enough onan open-book test to pass the training . After that , they goonto the hotline ’ s computer platform to observe live texting sessions . Once they ’ ve been cleared tobecounselors , they commit to scheduling four hours ’ worth of shifts per week for a year .
A typical conversation , says Smolowe , begins when counselors log on to the program , notify their supervisors that they are there , and hit the Help Another Texter button . At the left side of the screen , crisis counselors are available in chat rooms to share referrals , sites with further information on specific topics such as eating disorders , and other insights . The sophisticated software ensures that volunteers never feel alone or adrift .
They are trained to understand that they ’ re not there to save the texters or cure them of their disorders , she says . “ We validate their feelings , and help them express what they ’ re experiencing at the moment . We ’ re there to get them out of crisis mode , and point them to resources that can further help them .” Counselors steer texters to collaborate over plans , so that when they hang up , they ’ re on their way to taking positive action .
Despite the sometimes upsetting nature of the dialogues , Smolowe says that she finds it “ very gratifying that I ’ ve spent a block of time helping people who are truly in need . You know from the tenor of the conversation when you ’ ve helped .” ■
For more information about how to volunteer , go to crisistextline . org .
SMOLOWE : COURTESY OFESME ; GRAPHICS : COURTESY OFCRISISTEXTLINE . ORG
22 HOLIDAY 2017 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE