Washington Jewish Week: Life at the other end of the crisis hotline

Person holding head in distress on the other end of the crisis lifeline.

Washington Jewish Week: Life at the other end of the crisis hotline

To the right of her open laptop is the large hotline telephone that links Stevie Shuchart with unknown callers who may be suicidal, or stressed out, perhaps isolated — always in crisis.

She grabs the call, which can come on any of four hotlines in Montgomery County, including those sent to the county’s Lifeline by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network.

A volunteer, Shuchart does this once a week for four hours, sometimes adding another shift. She worked “sometimes three shifts during the height of the pandemic….”

 

Read the full article at Washington Jewish Week

This article was originally published at Washington Jeweish Week highlighting EveryMind’s Crisis Hotline