CONTACT Launches Proactive Prevention Campaign
02-28-2013
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In a recent study commissioned and conducted by the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University it was determined that teens and youth between the ages of 15 - 19 would prefer to utilize a crisis line to talk about problems, if they knew about it.
Further the study determined the issue for many students was the disconnect between the moment of crisis and the location of the number to seek help that does not need 911 intervention. CONTACT believes this to be the case for all persons facing a life challenge or crisis.
Many times teens and adults/seniors experience crisis without immediate access to support, encouragement or connection to the right resources to help them resolve a problem, crisis or address thoughts of suicide.
Often they may have never even heard of such a resource. If they have heard of it, there is a lack of recollection or connection to finding the number or website of the available resources.
Additionally, many who seek to offer support are unaware of appropriate resources so they fail or refuse to support when needed. CONTACT plans to launch a campaign in March called "Put it in Your Phone!" Our goal is to get the main and teen crisis line numbers in to as many phones as possible to bridge the gap between the crisis and the connection to help and hope.
CONTACT considers this campaign to be a part of our "proactive" approach to intervene in a crisis situation with the goal to prevent extreme crisis development or tragic results of violence or suicide. To accomplish our goal, we are seeking to participate in both grassroots and broad public awareness of the crisis line numbers and our campaign to "Put it in your Phone!"
Main - 972-233-2233 or Teen 972-233-8336
Grass roots efforts will include partnering with organizations that are touching the community with other basic needs including food, shelter, education and mental health services. We will reach out to schools, public and private, to commission them to put the crisis line number on the back of student identification cards or other school required materials.
We will partner with local food bank organizations to include flyers or key tags on packaged foods delivered to homes or shelters for both children and seniors. We will engage more deeply with our mental health partners to improve our warm transfer of callers and resource referrals to ensure clients/callers are receiving the best services for their needs at all times.
Public awareness efforts will require funding or in-kind services from individuals and corporations to produce and promote the campaign on billboards, radio, television, and print media to reach the broader Greater Dallas audience.
A task force of CONTACT staff, board members, volunteers, community partners and individuals and corporate funders will be convened to help strategically identify, plan and deliver these efforts in a way that ensures cohesiveness of the mission and message to those in need.
Campaign Vision: To maintain or restore hope for people from teens to seniors with an immediate connection to the CONTACT crisis line numbers at the moment of need.
Campaign Mission: To further the proactive approach of CONTACT to provide help, support and connection to the right resources to people from teens to seniors facing any type of problem, crisis or thoughts of suicide.
Contact Crisis Hotlines
Main - 972-233-2233 or Teen 972-233-8336
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