Aug 4, 2023
This summer marks one-year since 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline joined forces with Goodwill of the Finger Lakes to serve the community! In the past year, Goodwill's tele-counselors have taken thousands of calls for 988.
Today, Goodwill employees came together to celebrate all the good work that the 988 employees do! George, a tele-counselor for 211/LIFE LINE and 988, shared what he enjoys most about his job.
"Every call is different," says George, "the challenge of relating to each individual's circumstance keeps me interested and engaged. I like helping people, and there are so many people that need support."
When it comes to suicide prevention, it is important to be able to talk about it and meet people where they are - sometimes that means going into the darkness with them so they are not alone. "I talk about suicide all day long, and at the end of the day I still feel hopeful," says George. "I work in prevention, and I know I am helping."
988 Suicide & Prevention Lifeline, along with 211/LIFE LINE, are community programs of Goodwill of the Finger Lakes. In calendar year 2022, 988 and 211 have been able to serve 221,870 individuals across their website (211lifeline.org), calls, chats, and texts.