Its been a busy, prolonged year for crisis line operators serving Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and rural central coast. (NanaimoNewsNOW file photo)

By Ian Holmes

crisis support

COVID stress dominates as crisis line operators wrap busy year

Dec 29, 2020 | 5:30 AM

NANAIMO — Increasingly relied upon crisis line staff serving Vancouver Island are seeing first-hand effects COVID-19 is having on the people they serve.

Nanaimo based Vancouver Island Crisis Society (VICS) operators are hearing amplified anxiety levels brought on by the holidays and ongoing pandemic, executive director Elizabeth Newcombe said.

“So if you were worried about your finances before, with COVID it has intensified you’re concern with your finances. If you deal with a mental health issue, depression or anxiety, COVID has accentuated that.”

Newcombe said their trained crisis line support workers field an average of 115 contacts daily, down from 140 when lockdown measures began in March.

Mental health issues make up half the calls, covering depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

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Newcombe said they have regular callers continually gaining coping mechanisms during these difficult times.

“Because this is ongoing, it’s been going on for months,” Newcomb told NanaimoNewsNOW.

A continuous stream of primarily phone calls, in addition to text support, aren’t the only challenges facing VICS.

The organization’s base of crisis volunteers answering calls for help shriked dramatically during the pandemic, Newcomb said.

Paid staff tasked with handling the majority of phone calls picked up the slack.

“Its been 10 months and we focussed in December on their self-care and giving them support,” Newcombe said. “But it’s definitely a challenge, we just keep on keeping on, we support each other.”

It doesn’t take a trained crisis line operator to brighten somebody’s day.

Newcombe said the general public can “make a world of difference” by reaching out to a relative, neighbour, or even a stranger in a safe way this holiday season.

“Because we don’t know what that smile on the street does to someone, or that text, or that phone call, or Zoom over Christmas. It means a lot and I really encourage people to reach out, it’s priceless,” Newcombe said.

Nearly 34,200 phone calls and texts for help were made to VICS last fiscal year, according to the agency’s annual report.

A quarter of those inquiries originated from the Nanaimo-Ladysmith region.

A trained Vancouver Island Crisis Society operator can be reached 24-hours a day at 1-888-494-3888.

The VICS has been an Island-wide initiative for the past decade, while the organization launched 50 years ago under the Nanaimo Crisis Centre banner.

More information on VICS can be found on their website.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes