Call for Help, Inc. helps people overcome a variety of personal crises, ranging from suicide and personal distress to sexual assault to homelessness. We change lives by giving people skills and support that empower them to overcome emotional and physical crisis. Call for Help reaches over 30,000 people a year through the following programs:
· Suicide and Crisis Hotline. Call for Help provides the only 24-hour suicide and crisis hotline in the Metro-East area. Specially trained crisis workers listen to callers, offer support and suggestions and link people with critical community resources. Short-term in-person counseling is available. In the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, the hotline received 4,295 crisis-related calls with 196 requiring follow-up. Over 1,000 hours of no-cost, in-person counseling were provided.
· Transitional Living Center for Homeless Young Women and Children. The TLC works intensively with homeless young mothers to give them the skills and support to achieve long-term independent living in the community. They reside in a group setting for up to two years and receiving training in life skills, parenting, workplace readiness, GED and other subjects. A total of 111 women and children received 7,267 nights of care in FY 2011.
· Sexual Assault Victims Care Unit. Trained workers provide 24-hour response to victims of sexual assault and sexual abuse, arriving on-site at the hospital or police station to offer support and help navigate the medical and legal systems. Counseling and therapy are provided along with community education for youth, adults and professionals. In FY 2011, this program responded to 97 sexual-assault victims at police stations and hospitals, and gave services to 311 children and adults. An additional 21,437 people were reached through community education.
· Community Stabilization Program for the Mentally Ill. Through this residential transitional living program, people with mental illness who have become homeless receive help to stabilize their lives and return to the community. Assistance is provided with self-esteem, social competence, symptom management and basic life skills, along with help in locating appropriate housing and support resources in the community. Seventy-three individuals were served in FY2011.
· Information & Referral. Call for Help assists individuals and families on the brink of homelessness in connect with help for essential needs such as rent, utilities, food and more. Call for Help administers various government-funded assistance programs. In FY 2011, a total of 2,981 calls were received and rental/utility assistance was given to 293 families.
History. Call for Help, Inc. was started in 1970 when a group of mental health professionals, physicians, religious leaders and others recognized the need for a suicide prevention program in Madison and St. Clair counties. Beginning as a suicide hotline, Call for Help has expanded its services over the years to reflect the most serious needs of people in the Metro-East who face crisis in their lives.
General. Call for Help is a member of the United Way of Greater St. Louis and is accredited by the Council on Accreditation and the American Academy of Suicidology. Call for Help carries the Accredited Charity designation from the Better Business Bureau.