Volunteer Listening and Suicide Prevention Training
Caring Contact
Have you ever been told you are a good listener? Do you have a yearning to really make a difference? Caring Contact will be offering its 99th volunteer listening training beginning September 21st through December 14th, 2021. Training will run once a week on Tuesdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and will take place virtually and in person.
Participants receive 54 hours of comprehensive training by nationally certified instructors in active listening and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. Volunteers develop the ability to listen actively, assess the needs of someone in crisis and provide empathy and support to keep someone safe.
“This training and volunteering opportunity is ideal for retirees, empty-nesters, stay-at-home parents,” said Mary Claire Givelber, Caring Contact’s executive director. “Many of our listeners were looking for something meaningful to do after they retired or their children left home. They find that volunteering at Caring Contact not only gives them something to do with their new-found freedom but also gives them a sense of reward when they help someone in crisis. Fulltime professionals also participate finding the flexible volunteer hours work well with their work obligations.”
Following training new volunteer listeners are supported by seasoned listeners during 24 hours of internship before they take calls on their own. Even once a volunteer is a certified listener, the hotline provides a range of support and training opportunities to allow them to keep honing their skills.
Anyone interested in registering for the training should visit http://caringcontact.org/volunteer-listener-application/.
Caring Contact is an award-winning, volunteer-staffed crisis hotline and listening community, providing active listening support and best-in-class training to the Central and Northern New Jersey community. More than 70 trained volunteer listeners answered over 15,000 calls last year from people in crisis, having suicidal thoughts, or simply feeling depressed and lonely.
If you are in crisis and need someone to listen, call 800.273.8255. You Are Not Alone.
To learn more, visit caringcontact.org.
