CHIMO Crisis Line is now part of provincial-wide dedicated suicide and mental health crisis lines.
As of last Friday, CHIMO volunteers began taking calls from 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433) and 310 Mental Health Support (310-6789).
CHIMO is delighted to join the two provincial networks and expand our service, said Lisa Westermark, executive director at CHIMO.
The difference, said Janet Woo, coordinator of CHIMO Crisis Lines, is that now there is one number people from all over the province can phone, and the call will immediately be routed to the callers local crisis centre.
We now have dedicated lines, added Woo.
We operate from 8 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week, but if someone calls us after midnight the call will be answered by a volunteer in Vancouver, so theres always someone answering the lines.
Woo anticipates a moderate increase in calls.
On an average day, we receive 25 calls a day and in Richmond its mostly from adults in crisis and seniors who are isolated and lonely, she added.
Probably less than five per cent of our calls are from people contemplating suicide.
Of course it will be a watch and see, and if we need to we will add more volunteers down the road.
According to CHIMO, last year 132 specially trained volunteers handled more than 8,800 calls.
Of these, 4.074 calls were related to mental health and/or suicide.
Volunteers trained to provide triage and direct links for callers to Richmond Mental Health Emergency Services have attended information sessions to learn about the new network lines, said Woo.
For more information about CHIMO Crisis line, counselling or suicide awareness workshops for high schools, call 604-279-7077 or visit www.chimocrisis.com.
Statistics
According to the Child Death Review Unit of the Coroners Service of B.C., Suicide is the second most common cause of death for B.C. children and youth age 12 to 18, after motor vehicle accidents. (Reviews released Dec. 2, 2008).
