Volunteer Crisis Line Counselor

Volunteer Crisis Line Counselor (Suicide Prevention Center)

We are currently considering applications for the May-June 2024 training class. The application deadline for this class is April 19th, 2024. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible, since space is limited in each class. Applications received after April 19th, 2024 will be considered for the July-August 2024 class.

About Didi Hirsch

Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services has been a national leader in whole-person mental health, crisis care, and substance use services since 1942 and is home to the nation's first Suicide Prevention Center. We are a nonprofit organization providing care to nearly 200,000 people annually across our programs. Didi Hirsch has deep roots in community-based mental health and a commitment to providing culturally responsive services that are just and equitable.

As an organization, we value equity, diversity, and inclusion. More than 1,000 dedicated employees and volunteers make Didi Hirsch's work possible. We intentionally recruit and retain a workforce that is reflective of the communities we serve and strive to cultivate a sense of belonging for them. We embrace employees and candidates from all backgrounds who want to help make this vision a reality.

Summary

Our needs your help to staff its 24/7 Crisis Line as a volunteer Crisis Counselor! This role is one of the most intensely rewarding ways to contribute to your community while helping to erase the stigma around suicide and mental health. Many of our volunteers are pursuing careers in the mental health field or considering a career change before applying to graduate school, while others are looking for something meaningful to do in their spare time. Some have been touched by suicide, and others just want to help people in crisis.

Volunteer Requirements

• Must be age 18 or older.
• Basic computer competency and fluency in English required.
• Ability to attend the 6-week training and satisfy all training requirements described below.
• Ability to commit to one weekly 4-hour shift on the Crisis Line for 12 months.
• Ability to satisfy at least one of the following requirements for shift location:
  • Complete shifts in person at our Los Angeles office location; or
  • Complete shifts remotely from home (must have a reliable computer, reliable private internet access, quiet private space to take calls).
    • Ethernet cable must be used, Wifi Speed 400 mbps required.
    • View for a compatible computer.

No prior experience in mental health is needed. Due to the nature of our work, we do encourage applicants who have experienced suicide firsthand or through a loved one to seek support first before applying.

Training Requirements

Training is held remotely over Zoom video conferencing. All volunteers are required to have a stable high-speed internet connection, computer with functional audio/video, and headphones. Trainees are expected to complete all of the following:

• Crisis Line Training: Training occurs twice a week for 6 consecutive weeks on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (6-9pm). Trainees learn to facilitate crisis calls through evidence-based approaches to suicide prevention and role-playing. Please review the training dates at this .
• Additional Training Requirements: All volunteers are required to complete assignments and supplementary training courses outside of the 6-week training experience. These include asynchronous Disaster Distress Hotline trainings, 988 (Lifeline) trainings, HIPAA and other agency policy trainings, and more. Additionally, volunteers must complete written and mentor assignments. These all total 35 hours outside of the classroom experience.
• Documentation: All volunteers are required to complete a background check, in-person TB test, and in-person LiveScan fingerprinting during training.

Time Commitment

After the training program, volunteers will enter into an apprenticeship for an approximately three-month period, in which a supervisor will be listening in and providing feedback for all crisis calls. In addition, all trainees are expected to commit to the same weekly 4-hour shift for an entire calendar year.

BBS Hours: The Suicide Prevention Center does not offer supervision for intern hours.