Crisis hotlines provide support for those in emotional distress, with different hotlines available for various issues. They are manned by skilled workers and are available 24/7. While their usefulness is difficult to measure, they can be life-saving, but funding is necessary to ensure they remain equipped and available. Hotlines can also offer callbacks and specialized knowledge, but some people prefer talking to a person for immediate assistance.
Crisis hotlines are telephone numbers that you can call if you are in the midst of an emotional crisis or breaking point. The first crisis hotlines were for those contemplating suicide. There are now a number of crisis hotlines for different topics, such as those for homeless teenagers, those struggling with addiction and for victims of domestic violence or rape.
The first crisis hotlines were actually available in Britain in the 1950s. Australia established its first hotline in the 1960s. The United States did not have an established crisis hotline until the 1970s. Crisis hotlines now exist in most major US cities and often have 800 numbers, making them free for callers. There are also a number of crisis hotlines throughout Europe and Canada.
Crisis hotlines are usually manned by skilled workers, who are available 24 hours a day to help people take the next step towards finding resources to help them through a difficult time. Usually, workers answer the phone in shifts and their work is supervised by counselors who can step in and assist if the worker is unable to help the person in crisis.
Few studies have been conducted to establish the usefulness of crisis hotlines. Since most conversations are treated as confidential, it is difficult to collect statistics from individual hotlines. However, proponents of crisis hotlines argue that simply being available and even being able to prevent just one suicide, or help a person who has been violated, justifies funding.
One way that crisis hotlines can be very taxing for the person in crisis is if a person has to wait on hold or not be able to reach the hotline. Reaching an answering machine instead of a live person is likely to cause a person to continue with a suicide attempt rather than waiting for a callback.
For this reason, crisis hotlines need funding to remain fully equipped. Crisis hotlines should also find a way to let people know if the hotline is not open around the clock. Therefore, people who call won’t experience what they consider rejection if they call and don’t reach someone right away.
A variant of the crisis hotline is a hotline. Hot lines tend to be unstaffed at all times of the day, but they do offer callbacks to those who need assistance. There are hotlines for parents who need help with significant parenting issues, for those with addiction, and for those requiring assistance in other areas.
A hotline might not be supervised by a consultant, but might be manned by just one or two dedicated people with special knowledge in the area that the hotline caters to. More help and crisis advice is now available on the Internet for those experiencing emotional difficulties in a variety of areas. However, many feel that there is no substitute for the experience of actually talking to a person when you need immediate assistance.
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