STAY CONNECTED: Have the stories that matter most delivered every night to your email inbox. Subscribe to our daily local news wrap.

Nanaimo based Crisis Line reporting record call volumes

Dec 30, 2016 | 12:53 PM

NANAIMO — A record number of people are turning to the Vancouver Island Crisis Society for help.

Community Relations Coordinator Heather Owen says their operators have logged more than 32,000 calls island-wide so far this year. Owen says the nature of calls that their operators are hearing are becoming more serious, with many callers reporting multiple problems. She references a job loss and housing issues as examples.

“It starts to roll into a lot of complicated issues and people are becoming more overwhelmed,” said Owen.

With three months still left in the society’s fiscal year, Owen says their operators have already dealt with more calls than the little more than 31,000 last year. She says they’ve seen a steady rise in call volumes since several other crisis line agencies merged with theirs about seven years ago.

She says increased call volumes are coupled with a shrinking roster of active volunteers. Owen says currently the Nanaimo based society has about 25 volunteers, down from past numbers of 45 to 50. Owen notes paid staff are sometimes tasked with covering shifts that volunteer operators traditionally handled.

“Which puts a lot of strain on our budget when we have to fill those positions with staff, we are struggling to answer that increase in calls.”

And relief is nowhere in sight. Owen says the new year is the busiest time of year for the Vancouver Island Crisis Society.

“In January when people get past the holidays and find that now the bills start coming in and plans they had over the holidays didn’t work out the way they wanted to, that’s when we really see the increase in volumes,” she said.

Owen says sometimes minor gestures can be enough to turn around a negative day for a person who lives alone or those with limited family or social support networks. She says being friendly this time of year goes a long way.

“Be that kind person who smiles or says hello, extends a hand or buys a coffee,” said Owen. “That can make all the difference for somebody.”

A Vancouver Island Crisis Line operator can be reached 24/7 at 1-888-494-3888. The society’s website is www.vicrisis.ca.