Covenant House Nineline

Covenant House Nineline is a nation wide crisis intervention hotline and is primarily for youth and their families, however we assist all those who call and are in crisis. On the hotline we handle different types of calls such as Suicide, Child Abuse, runaway and troubled youth, Domestic Violence, Substance Abuse Calls and Shelter referrals for both youth and adults. The hotline operates from 2pm-10pm, and crisis calls are answered from 4pm-8pm (Eastern Time), seven days a week. Besides, providing crisis counseling via telephone, Crisis Workers also respond to crisis emails via Nineline's online forum. Crisis Workers are able to access a computerized database of more than 30,000 agencies which helps when providing callers with referrals in their city and state. Nineline Staff also assist youth by arranging transportation home or to a safe shelter, and also provide a message relay service so that youth not ready to speak with their families can let relatives know they are safe.

Volunteers should:

• Muliti-task: This is important since while providing crisis counseling via telephone, you may also need to provide a referral for shelter, counseling facility or any other service to the caller simoultaneously.
• Non-judgemental: No matter what issues our callers speak about, we always respect them by listening, being empathetic and compassionate.

Requirements

Part of the requirements to becoming a volunteer for Nineline are the following:

Volunteers must complete and pass a 2 Part Basic Training. Training for volunteers are usually given on the weekends. Volunteers must commit four hours a day; once a week for at least one year.