Crisis Text Line

The Cool Calm

The Cool Calm is the Crisis Text Line blog. Insights, data, stories, and other looks at our work in crisis intervention and technology.

This #GivingTuesday is All About #GivingTime

 

No matter how you experience the holidays, there’s one universal thread that unites us all: the holiday season is a time of giving. 

At Crisis Text Line we know that the world could use some empathy year-round. That’s why we provide free confidential support via text, 24/7. The secret sauce? Our Crisis Counselors. Our Crisis Counselors are all-star trained volunteers who lead with empathy and kindness. In the last six years, over 25,000 caring individuals have completed our 30-hour training coaching them on how to help move a texter from a hot moment to cool and calm. Even better, they can help a texter anytime and anywhere they have an internet connection. Because, helping someone in crisis should be as easy swiping right, ordering takeout, or calling a car. 

Crisis Counselors who power our platform help texters who are self-harming find healthy alternatives. They also help texters who are seriously in pain over a relationship remember that they deserve kindness. Sometimes even help people live authentically by offering a brave space for people to share the things they’ve never shared before. They do it all with kindness and empathy from the comfort of their own home and on their own time. 

The world will ask a lot of you this holiday season. You’ll be pulled between work, family, and friendship commitments. This Giving Tuesday, we’re not asking you for money. Instead, this #GivingTuesday is all about #GivingTime.

Starting on Giving Tuesday (12/3) through the end of the year, we’re rallying 2,020 people to apply to become a Crisis Counselor and (as our CEO, Nancy Lublin, puts it) join our giant love machine. 

So, are you ready to help ease the pain in the world? Here’s how to get involved.

  1. Submit an application for Crisis Counselor training here. (PRO TIP: Make sure you select “Giving Time” in your application form. )

  2. Once you’ve been accepted into training, you’ll be matched with a Coach who will guide your one-stop shop for everything Crisis Text Line. They’ll answer all of your questions and provide feedback on your crisis counseling skills around the way.

  3. After you’ve graduated from the training, you’ll be able to log onto the platform and take your first conversation with a texter in crisis! On the platform, supervisors will be there to guide you through hard conversations and lend a helping hand. Don’t worry, we’ve totally got your back. And, you can totally do this.

Give time this holiday season. Become one of 2,020 people who pledge to become an Empathy MVP next year and apply to become a Crisis Counselor.




 
Laurel Schwartz