SPRINGDALE, Ark. – The Arkansas Crisis Center is meeting some of its most vulnerable clients where they already spend much of their time – on the Internet and texting on their cell phones.
A grant from the Alex Blackwood Foundation for HOPE is allowing the ACC to purchase and operate the software needed to offer 24/7 online and text chat suicide prevention support. The online emotional support is expected to go live this spring. “This will bring us to the forefront of helping people in crisis,” said Shelby Chandler, executive director of the ACC. “Young people tend to reach out through online chatting or texting. And with suicide being the second leading cause of death among 18 to 24 year olds, this is a venue we can’t ignore. It gives them an additional way to reach out – even when they can’t find their voice.”
The online emotional support program will be the first in the state of Arkansas and will be part of a network of crisis intervention centers across the nation.
The ACC is recruiting volunteers to staff the online emotional support system. In addition, local citizens, businesses and organizations can join the fight against suicide and breaking the silence of suicide by helping to fund this historic project through any level of financial support:
- • $50 provides one month of Internet service to keep the online emotional support up and running.
- • $125 pays for the training of a volunteer.
- • $250 pays for use of the national software for one month.
The grant for online emotional support is the first grant awarded by the Alex Blackwood Foundation for HOPE, named in honor of Steven Blackwood’s son, who died by suicide in 2008 at the age of 19. “We have a long way to go in not only helping those with suicidal thoughts, but in smashing the stigma that keeps suicide deaths under-reported,” Blackwood said. “I felt I needed to start the Foundation’s funding efforts right here in my own backyard in Arkansas, where suicide prevention has been far from a priority.”
The Arkansas Crisis Center and the emotional online support network are available to any state resident. Last year, the ACC received more than 5,900 calls from every county in the state of Arkansas, with the exception of one in the South Central Region. Arkansas averages losing more than one life a day to suicide, and yet only one of three suicidal deaths are reported as such.
About the Arkansas Crisis Center: The ACC is a 501c(3) organization dedicated to assisting residents across Arkansas through times of crisis and empowering them to find hope and thrive. Founded in 1986, the ACC operates a 24/7 crisis hotline at 1-888-CRISIS2 (274-7472) and is one of more than 140 certified crisis centers that participate in the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255). For more information, visit www.arcrisis.org.
