Students and faculty members interested in volunteering for The PHONE should contact the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center no later than today to obtain an application.
The PHONE is a 24-hour crisis counseling hotline founded in 1970.Interested applicants will go through an interview process and a group screening session, which will be held tonight, according to Allyson Pardue, training and clinical staff member at BRCIC.
Applicants need to be at least 18 years old, be able to commit to a two-month class and possess a strong level of empathy, Pardue said. No prior experience is necessary to apply.
“It’s a big-time commitment,” she said. “Our training is like 60 hours. But the payoff is you get professional training to become a paraprofessional.”
Pardue said training classes are usually comprised of about 80 to 85 percent University students, particularly psychology and social work students.
“The main qualification we are looking for in PHONE counselors is the ability to be empathetic and nonjudgmental, and a willingness to learn,” according to a broadcast email sent to students in the College of Arts & Sciences.
Pardue said The PHONE provides volunteers with the skills to handle people dealing with day-to-day crises.
“We never know who we’re going to run into in life,” Pardue said. “A lot of people are at risk for suicide. Someone you pass every day on your way to biology class may be at risk because of something in their past. This gives you the tools to communicate effectively. It’s incredible training for someone looking to go into the mental health field.”
The PHONE is closely tied to the University as well.
It was originally located in the Student Health Center and was founded after six students — including the student body president — committed suicide on campus in 1970.
“It was a really traumatic time for the University and community” Pardue said. “They knew then there were people not getting help.”
The PHONE opened a line to the general Baton Rouge community a year later. It moved off campus a few years after that and became the foundation for BRCIC, according to Pardue.
The PHONE also has a special line that is dedicated to the University community.
“Our general mission is to reduce the impact from suicide on the general community,” she said.
People interested in applying to volunteer for The PHONE should contact BRCIC today to schedule an interview.
—-Contact Matthew Jacobs at [email protected].