Frequently Asked Questions

1. How many people are served as a result of your services?

The 24-Hour Crisis Line, Community Information Line, Teen Link staff and volunteers handle over 192,000 calls per year. In 2008, the 24-Hour Crisis Line responded to 83,000 calls; the 2-1-1 Community Information Line responded to nearly 108,000 calls; and Teen Link volunteers responded to 1,000 calls. Additionally, Teen Link volunteers spoke to nearly 6,000 youth about suicide prevention in the school year.

2. What population(s) does your agency serve?

While we don’t collect personal information, we do collect demographic information to help us find services best suited to the caller’s needs. In 2008, 48% of callers lived in Seattle, 29% lived in South King County, 12% on the Eastside, 4% in North King County and 7% outside of King County.

Of the callers to the 24-Hour Crisis Line:
84% were at poverty line or below
60% were female
51% were living alone
50% were living with a serious or chronic mental illness; of those 33% had no treatment provider

Of the callers to the Community Information Line:
97% were at poverty level or below
77% were female
49% were from households with children
20% were homeless
52% needed help finding basic needs or financial assistance

3. With what agencies do you have collaborative relationships to plan and provide services?

We collaborate with over 3,000 agencies in order to obtain the most up-to-date information about their organization and services. We use this information to assure that our referrals are appropriate and accurate.  This information is in our annual Where to Turn resource directories and Community Resources Online.

Furthermore, we contract with 13 mental health agencies to provide after-hours service and support for their clients.  Because we offer 24-hour crisis intervention, we are able to provide problem resolution assistance to their clients when their agency is closed. We also work closely with homeless/shelter-providing agencies by operating the Bed Bank, which directs callers to women & family shelter who have openings that day.

4. Tell a success story which illustrates how your mission is achieved.

(“Julie” was a loaned executive for the United Way Campaign. She agreed to share her story of survival and Crisis Clinic’s role in her life.)

In the mid-1990s, Julie’s life took a series of unexpected turns: she lost her job, her marriage failed, and she was financially unable to keep her home. She moved to a tiny apartment and began drinking to soothe her loneliness. Later she was involved in an abusive relationship and after one violent argument, she threw herself in front of her boyfriend’s moving vehicle. Julie remembered, “I just wanted him to kill me.” As she lay in the street, uninjured by the car, she felt humiliated, despondent, trapped and afraid of what people would think if they knew how she had been living. At that point, she picked up the telephone and dialed the 24-hour Crisis Line. “I didn’t call family or friends because I did not want them to see me like that.”  Crying hysterically, Julie was convinced that she was going crazy, and that the only way to end the violence and despair of the past years was to kill herself -- to end her pain of living.

She remembers being comforted by the Crisis Clinic volunteer’s understanding, compassion and non-judgmental responses. Looking back on that time, Julie believes that the call to Crisis Clinic saved her life. She accepted an appointment at a local mental health agency and decided to quit drinking. She now has over four years of sobriety, a new relationship and, with counseling, has uncovered and addressed issues of her past. She is getting a college degree at the University of Washington and -- through the United Way campaign -- has become involved in her community, wanting to help other people in similar circumstances.

5. Who are your funding sources? (2009 budget)

• 16% United Way
• 61% Government fees & grants:
  King County Mental Health Division, Municipalities, City of Seattle Aging & Disability Services, etc.
• 16% Private contracts and product sales:
  After Hours contracts, Legal Services contract, sales of Where to Turn Resource Directories
• 7%  comes from individual gifts, special events, grants, in-kind gifts, misc. 

6. Increasingly the donor demands that non-profits be accountable for the contributions they receive and wants to see that their dollars are making a difference. In what quantifiable ways are you measuring outcomes?

 Our outcomes are to:

• Reduce immediate emotional distress/diffuse crises
• Reduce the immediate risk of injury and violence to one’s self and others;
• Increase ability of people to access the safety net - particularly for basic needs services and emotional/mental health services.

These outcomes are measured by:

• Using a nationally recognized survey instrument to determine the degree to which callers express distress relief, engagement in problem-solving and appreciation by the end of the call.
• Using a caller satisfaction survey to determine if new and useful information was given to the caller.
• Determining risk factors and linking callers to appropriate emergency mental health services.
• Securing a “safety contract” from callers expressing suicide ideation.
• Using a survey to determine the degree to which students receiving suicide prevention training learned new information and judged it relevant to their lives.

7. What do you see as your agency’s most significant contribution to the community?

Crisis Clinic is the first place someone in crisis or seeking a community service should call.  We have the ability to immediately address the crisis and link the caller to emergency mental health services.  We help callers problem solve and refer them to the agencies that can best meet their needs.  This reduces the frustration of the caller and supports community agencies by directing callers to them who meet their eligibility criteria.

8. What kinds of activities are volunteers involved in at your agency?

Crisis Clinic relies heavily on a corps of highly trained volunteer phone workers to staff its 24-Hour Crisis Line.  We have over 220 volunteer phone workers who are carefully screened, and receive over 55 hours of pre-service training in communication skills, suicide, mental illness, domestic violence, and other issues relevant to crisis phone work.  Phone workers commit to working one, 4-1/2-hour shift per week for a full year following the successful completion of their training.

We also have approximately 50 teen and adult volunteers assisting with Teen Link.  Teens answer the help line, assist with the youth suicide prevention presentations in schools and youth serving organizations, as well as serve on the Community Outreach Committee or Peer Advisory Board.

In addition we have an active Board of Trustees and draw on volunteer help to assist us with administrative, marketing and development support.

9. What is your biggest barrier to providing services?

One of our greatest frustrations is the fragmentation of the human services system.  On one hand, it is commendable that so many people are forming groups to meet specific needs.  On the other hand, there are so many limitations and eligibility requirements (by both private and public groups) it is hard for people to get sufficient resources for a long enough period to return them to stable functioning.   For example, a family who is eligible for food stamps may not be eligible for Head Start; both of which are extremely important for meeting basic needs. We deal with these issues everyday on our Community Information Line and hear the frustration of individuals seeking help.

10. What would you like us to remember about your agency?

Since 1964 Crisis Clinic has been responding to calls for help from throughout King County.  We help our clients navigate the complex and confusing world of the social service system, and provide advocacy and follow-up for callers who have difficulty accessing services on their own.  Our trained staff and volunteers operate our services with the goal of providing effective answers.