This message was sent to The Hill News by Karen Easter, the Executive Director of Reachout. If you have any questions, or are interested in attending the training session, please follow the link at the bottom.

Reachout, St. Lawrence County’s  24-hour, 7-day a week crisis intervention and information and referral hotline located in Potsdam, is looking for applicants for our fall volunteer training class. We handle over 28,000 calls a year, and help people experiencing many problems, such as loneliness, substance abuse, mental illness, poverty, rape, domestic violence, suicide, and family problems. Our volunteers receive over 75 hours of training in crisis intervention, listening skills, problem solving, and information and referral prior to answering phones alone.

Reachout volunteers learn crisis intervention skills that are valuable in any career as well as in family and community life, while providing vital and sometimes life-saving help to the people who live in St. Lawrence County. Volunteers gain experience that they can’t get anywhere else while working as part of a caring community which feels like family.

Won’t you join us?  Our introductory training weekend starts this Friday at 5:00 and continues through Sunday afternoon, September 22 – 23.  The deadline for applications is Tuesday, September 19 at 5:00 p.m.  To learn more, and to apply, go to our website: www.reachouthotline.org/apply