Sometimes people are just a phone call away from a life-altering decision. Sometimes they are in desperate need of help. Will you answer that call? Every year, 10,000 people call into the phone line at The Crisis Clinic of Thurston and Mason Counties. They need compassionate adult volunteers to answer these calls and be a calm, caring voice to those in trouble or need.
“The Crisis Clinic has been serving this community for over 50 years, and many people still don’t know about our organization!” shares Holly Wetzel, executive director of The Crisis Clinic of Thurston and Mason Counites. “The work our volunteers do for our community daily is remarkable, and more people deserve to know that when they or someone they love is in crisis, there is someone available here to answer and provide support.”
The Crisis Clinic Needs Volunteers More Than Ever
There is a large call. The clinic needs 20-30 volunteers to keep their phones manned. While what they do has not changed in the last 50 years, Holly shares that people’s crises are more complex. “A mental health crisis is often tangled up with housing instability, financial stress, social isolation, substance use,” she adds.
So who makes a life-saving volunteer? “The volunteers who thrive at the Crisis Clinic genuinely care about the well-being of our community and the people in it who need support,” shares Holly. “They are empathetic, curious and open to feedback because they are invested in their own growth.”
Shifts are four hours long and most volunteers do just one shift a week. The Crisis Clinic is open 24/7, so you can find a time slot that works with your schedule.
Volunteers are not just thrust on the phone. They go through extensive training so you are prepared to help those on the other side of the line. Training includes 60 hours of highly interactive training. This happens both with self-paced online and in-person sessions. The in-person sessions are once a week for five weeks. The curriculum covers:
- Covering crisis intervention fundamentals
- Suicide response
- Interpersonal violence
- Youth and teen crisis
- Crisis across diverse backgrounds
- Grief and loss
- Mental health
- Addictive behaviors and substance
- Setting boundaries
- Resilience and self-care
The training will also teach you about the resources available in both Thurston and Mason counties, so you can refer callers to those that can provide ongoing support.
“Then there is the community that we have here at the Crisis Clinic,” Holly adds. “As our training is cohort-based, you will go through training alongside a group of people who showed up for the same reason you did. Many of our volunteers come out with friends they keep for life.”
Why Volunteer at The Crisis Center
While you are there to help others, it’s a symbiotic relationship. You will get something out of it, too. Holly shares: “There is something truly special about being the person who picks up the phone and holds space for someone in the community who has nowhere else to turn. When two people are present with each other in one moment, one of them in pain and one of them saying, ‘I’m here, you’re not alone,’ that moment is incredibly powerful. To help someone pause, process, and leave the call feeling understood and that they know what to do next is about as human as it gets.”
Many volunteers find their personal lives have changed as well. “The skills our volunteers learn to do that, how to really listen, how to hold space without judgement, you bring those skills to every aspect of your life thereafter,” Holly continues. “Our past and present volunteers tell us all the time how their time with us has changed how they show up at home and at work.”
Learn the impact your volunteering might have here. You could change a life. You could save a life.
You can apply to be a volunteer on The Crisis Clinic of Thurston and Mason Counties website. They also host one to two information sessions a month for those interested in learning more about being a volunteer.
The Crisis Clinic of Thurston and Mason Counties
Call now if you are in a crisis:
360.586.8200
360.586.2777 (youth/teen line)
