Page 7 - Goodwill of the Finger Lakes Annual Report

Live a Culture of Belonging:
L GFL has operated the 211/LIFE LINE hotline program since 2005,
Lived Experience of 988 Front-Line Staff

handling crisis calls along with inquiries related to food insecurity,
disaster response, housing instability, senior services, and similar
matters, so it was well-prepared for the new challenges. Two years
ago, when the US launched the 3-digit dialing code 988 (previously
known as National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), GFL was well
positioned to take on this new challenge and expansion of crisis
and suicide prevention hotline work.

GFL quickly scaled up to answer more 988 calls, texts, and chats so
that our 211 front-line staff can continue to address nonemergency needs while the 988 staff
handle contacts related to suicide and mental health crises. Currently the combined 211 and
988 teams—80 staff in all—serve nine counties: Monroe, Wayne, Seneca, Ontario, Livingston,
Cayuga, Schuyler, Steuben, and Yates. On its own, our GFL 988 team receives approximately
1,200 calls and 1,000 chats or texts monthly. Nationally, a key reason for creating the 988
system was to reduce the use of 911 for mental health crises, as that often triggers a law
enforcement response. This year under 2% of 988 contacts have resulted in a 911 call.

Penny Sterling, Life Line Crisis Chat & Text Counselor, finds her work informed by many life
experiences, including being a parent, serving as a 12-step sponsor, becoming physically
disabled, and transitioning to live as a transgender woman. From lived experience, she
understands what it’s like to be in deeply painful situations, and what it’s like to survive,
grow, and go on to thrive. When someone contacts 988, she can authentically validate their
experience. As Penny puts it, “I know what it’s like to have a very, very, hard time and then
have somebody discount it.” But she can also tell people in distress, with conviction, that the
possibility of joy and connection lies on the other side of a crisis. She says, “I can’t think of a
mistake you cannot recover from—except ending your life.”

This is difficult work. Typically, a Crisis Counselor responds to a stranger at a very intense,
painful moment in that person’s life. For that moment, “there is nothing else in the world
except the person you are talking to,” says the 988 team’s supervisor, Andrew Conley. As
Penny Sterling describes it, “we have to listen actively, with our whole heart and whole
soul.” Then the contact is over, and in most cases, in Penny’s words, “You don’t know how
the story ends.” A big part of Andrew’s job as NYS Lifeline Crisis Chat and Text Supervisor at
GFL, is to attend to the wellbeing of his team. From his own lived experience as a person with
a mental illness, he has developed healthy strategies for processing the workday, including
connecting with his community and getting out in nature. Penny takes long bike rides to relax.
Both of them take enormous satisfaction and pride in their work. It’s not every job that gives
you the opportunity to change lives every day. Andrew describes it as “having my work aligned
with my values,” adding, “I can’t imagine it any other way.”