Westfield Suicide Hotline Searches for Volunteers

A Westfield-based suicide prevention agency is actively looking for hotline volunteers to help save the lives of those contemplating suicide. The agency relies on more than 200 volunteers who respond to 14,000 calls and texts for help each year.

“Every 13.7 minutes someone in the United States dies by suicide, including 4,600 young people, and for every one suicide there are 25 attempts,” Program and hotline director Sue Fasano stated in a release. “In addition, nearly one in five Americans suffers from some form of mental illness each year.”

Suicide prevention and crisis intervention hotline CONTACT We Care will be offering its next round of training for volunteer listeners beginning Wednesday, Feb. 18, at the RWJ Rahway Fitness and Wellness Center at 2120 Lamberts Mill Road in Scotch Plains, beginning at 7 p.m. The training program meets once weekly for 13 weeks, with one one-week break.

CONTACT We Care, headquartered in Westfield, is a suicide prevention agency that operates a suicide prevention and crisis intervention hotline and provides suicide prevention training to the public, community groups and businesses.

The agency relies on more than 200 volunteers to staff its listening lines and texting services and the hotline is always looking for new volunteers, according to Sue Fasano, director of programs at the hotline. They answer about 14,000 calls and texts each year.

“Providing an empathetic ear when someone is in crisis or simply experiencing a down period in their life can make so much of a difference,” Fasano stated. “Our volunteers have a real impact on lives and they are the heart of our operations.”

Potential volunteers who are intimidated by the idea of talking to people in crisis should not be concerned, according to Fasano. CONTACT’s volunteers are well trained for their work, she said.

Volunteers undergo 50 hours of instruction in empathetic and nonjudgmental active listening and mental health issues and go through a two-day intensive session on suicide intervention called ASIST, or Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training.

Training is followed by an internship on the lines with experienced listeners. There is a fee for materials of $75 and volunteers are asked to commit to eight hours on the lines per month for a at least one year.

Volunteer Experiences

Dean Marsh has been a volunteer listener since December.

“I was a little worried coming from an IT background that I’d have the ability to talk to people in crisis over the phone,” he said. “But I read about the amount of training they provide and I tried it out.”

He is glad he did. Marsh recalls one call he took toward the end of his shift. He spent two-and-a-half hours talking to the caller.

“What he was feeling at the beginning of the call and at the end of the call was an amazing turnaround,” Marsh said. “He told me he didn’t know what he would do if someone didn’t pick up the phone. He said having someone to talk to really changed his world. You really feel good about yourself when you get off that kind of call and know that you changed or potentially saved a life.”

Volunteers come from all backgrounds and age groups and the vast majority have no training in suicide prevention prior to volunteering. Some had their lives touched by suicide in some way but most simply want to help others in need, Fasano said.

What Callers Have to Say

CONTACT We Care often receives messages from callers or texters who have been helped.

“I just wanted to send a message to thank you all for the work that you do,” wrote one caller. “I was a distraught 15-year old when I made the call. The counselor that I spoke to over the phone saved my life.”

“I wanted to say thank you,” wrote a texter. “Without you I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have went to the mental health and got help. I decided I really don’t want to die. I wanted these bad feelings to die, not everything else.”

How to Become a Volunteer

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer listener or texter at CONTACT We Care and wanting to register for the training should contact Fasano at 908.301.1899 or sue.fasano@contactwecare.org.

CONTACT We Care also provides training to members of the public, community groups and businesses in suicide awareness and prevention, active listening, mental health first aid and preventing teenage suicide. Anyone interested in learning more about or scheduling training also should contact Fasano.

CONTACT We Care serves Central and Northern New Jersey and is a primary responder to calls to the national suicide prevention line (1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-SUICIDE) that originate in New Jersey. Callers also reach CONTACT by dialing 908-232-2880 or texting “CWC” to 839863.

For general information about CONTACT We Care or to become a volunteer, call us at 908-301-1899 or visit our website.

About CONTACT We Care

CONTACT We Care, headquartered in Westfield and with a listening hub in Morristown and celebrating our 40th year, is Central and Northern New Jersey’s crisis listening line, receiving more than 17,000 calls per year.

CONTACT brings comfort and hope to people in emotional distress through active, empathetic and nonjudgmental listening. All calls are free, anonymous and confidential.

If you are in crisis and need someone to listen, call the hotline at 908-232-2880.

CONTACT We Care is affiliated with CONTACT USA, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and the American Association of Suicidology.

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