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I\u2019ve always been passionate about supporting people when they might feel stigmatized or isolated<\/b>.<\/p>\n
When I was growing up, my family struggled with poverty. Some of them turned to substances to cope and, even though they were around, I felt alone. The first funeral I ever went to was for a coworker who died by suicide, when I was 16. He was prominent in my community and when he took his own life, I started thinking about how I could help others.<\/p>\n
I graduated from high school in 1990 and I wanted to work with people who were struggling with HIV\/AIDS, which was everywhere at that time. Since then, I’ve also felt called to work with older adults, people with severe and persistent mental illness, and people in hospice care.<\/p>\n
There is so much yuck in the world, but there are so many people out there doing their best. I don\u2019t want anyone to feel alone. I\u2019m only one person, and I can\u2019t help everyone \u2013 but I realized that I could be a part of something bigger.<\/p>\n
I got comfortable talking about suicide so that others can feel more comfortable getting support<\/b>.<\/p>\n
I became a volunteer crisis counselor at Lines for Life to get experience in the field, and when I finished my master’s program, I applied to work as a Crisis Intervention Specialist. Shortly after, I was promoted to a supervisor position, and then to a preceptor role, coaching other responders. I now lead the experiential coaching portion of staff training \u2013 I am the Lead Clinical Preceptor for onboarding new responders.<\/p>\n
In my role, I help new crisis counselors get comfortable having conversations about suicide and mental health, and I help prepare them to be a solid support for anyone who calls in, no matter what they\u2019re struggling with.<\/p>\n
When we start the conversation with callers, we don\u2019t have time for a lot of background or to form a relationship \u2013 it\u2019s more like a glimpse of what someone is going through in a dark moment. <\/p>\n
Being able to sit with callers in those dark moments and help them find a sprinkle of hope, even just for getting through the day, is really powerful<\/b>.<\/p>\n
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