Help Hotline honors volunteers

By Sean Barron

The agency averages 100,000 calls every year, the executive director said.

YOUNGSTOWN — Whether contemplating suicide or simply needing the phone number of a particular agency, callers to Help Hotline Crisis Center Inc. can always count on unconditional guidance on the other end.

That’s because no matter the time of day or night, the agency is equipped with volunteers dedicated to providing a variety of services to the community, and beyond.

For their efforts, those who give their time each week to the crisis center were honored during Thursday’s annual volunteer recognition banquet at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church Hall, 343 Via Mount Carmel Drive.

More than 100 volunteers, staff, mental health professionals and guests attended the program, “Volunteers: The Heart of the Community.” The dinner also celebrated the agency’s 37th anniversary.

Six-week certification courses are offered twice a year for potential volunteers who receive training mainly in crisis intervention, suicide prevention and support services.

Also stressed is the importance of practicing active-listening techniques, having a caring, nonjudgmental attitude and following confidentiality rules.

Those who answer the phones aren’t expected to solve the problems of callers in crisis but to follow a six-step crisis intervention model that includes steps such as establishing rapport, paraphrasing and summarizing the main difficulty that prompted the person to call.

Volunteers also are asked to refrain from dispensing advice or debating with callers about their views on religion or politics, for example, officials with the agency say.

The nonprofit crisis center was established in May 1971 as a drug information line for Mahoning County and was available six hours each day. Now, the center operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week with roughly 25 to 30 volunteers who work four- or eight-hour shifts.

Help Hotline also has 49 part- and full-time employees, including some who are licensed mental-health professionals.

Full names of volunteers, as well as Help Hotline’s location, are confidential.

The efforts of volunteers, some of whom have given more than 1,000 hours to the agency, save Mahoning County an estimated $42,000 annually by providing certain services and not getting paid, noted Duane Piccirilli, executive director. The agency receives an average of 100,000 calls each year, most of which are from Mahoning and Columbiana counties as well as parts of Trumbull and Ashtabula, Piccirilli said, adding that assistance is always available to those in need.

“We’re a safety net. There’s no reason anyone in the county has to be told we can’t help you,” Piccirilli continued.

About 55 percent of the agency’s funding is from mental health board levy money, he said. Information was on hand encouraging people to vote for Issue 7, the mental health renewal levy on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

To become a volunteer, call (330) 747-2696 for information about training. A background in social work is not necessary.