- Crisis intervention for suicide, sexual assault, substance abuse, and domestic violence
- Confidential listening
- Information and referrals
- Primary relay for SAVAS (Sexual Assault Victim’s Advocacy Service)
- Primary contact for SAS (Surviving After Suicide)
- Teleteen for teens
- Phone-A-Friend for “latchkey” children
- Senior Link for senior adults or homebound citizens
- Support groups:
- SAS for individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide
- Training in the community:
- Active Listening
- Suicide prevention / intervention / postvention. Trainers certified in ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), Safe TALK, Suicide TALK, and QPR (Question, Persuade and Refer)
The 24-hour telephone number is 703-368-4141.
Any crisis can become overwhelming when there is no one who will listen. For the past 27 years, ACTS Helpline has provided crisis listening and information referral. Thanks to the support of our many volunteers, someone is available 24 hours, 7 days, 365 days a year.
To deal with the many types of calls ACTS Helpline receives, volunteers must attend an orientation and 40 hours of volunteer training. Those interested should call James Mitchell at 703-221-1144 for details on location and time.
ACTS Helpline is also dedicated to suicide intervention. To that end, the program is certified by the American Association of Suicidology. Since 2003 ACTS/Helpline has been part of the National Suicide Survivors Teleconference, and is a participating Lifeline call center.
1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-273-TALK
In order to promote a suicide safer community, ACTS Helpline provides suicide intervention training in the Northern Virginia community. In FY 2009/2010, 27 trainings in suicide prevention were conducted for 740 individuals including school personnel, law enforcement, social workers, and the faith community.
Certified trainers are available to conduct ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), which is a two-day (15 hours) intensive, interactive and practice-dominated course designed to help caregivers recognize risk and learn how to intervene to prevent the immediate danger of suicide. ASIST is createdby Living Works and is one of the most widely used, researched suicide intervention models http://www.livingworks.net/.
Question, Persuade and Refer (QPR) training can be provided by certified trainers. QPR is designed to teach caregivers to identify persons who might be at risk of suicide, offer immediate prevention steps, and refer the individual to resources for long-term help. The training is designed by the QPR Institute. http://www.qprinstitute.com/.
Anyone interested in learning about future trainings or scheduling one for your organization may call ACTS Helpline at 703-221-1144. Requests for presentations, flyers, brochures or other materials are welcomed and should be directed to the office number.
Annual Report
ACTS Helpline responded to 14,636 calls in FY 2010. In addition to maintaining a 24/7/365 crisis hotline, it is actively involved in a variety of prevention and community wellness activities. Research indicates that elderly, young, and survivors of the suicide of a loved one are among the highest risk groups for suicide attempts and completions. ACTS Helpline conducted 27 suicide prevention training events in FY 2010 attended by 740 community members.
|
