Helping Hands
A Kind Voice in Time of Need Community Helpline has been supporting people in crisis for 50 years. Written by Melissa Bean Sterzick | Photographed by Vincent Rios
The Community Helpline staff (from left): Savannah Leslie, Kathleen Pantucci, Katherine Stritzinger and Abhisha Shah
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veryone needs a listening ear sometimes. When life is difficult, a few kind words make an enormous difference. If a friend or loved one or therapist is not available, a telephone helpline is a great resource for anyone experiencing a crisis, a mental health issue, loneliness or grief. Community Helpline, based in the South Bay, celebrated its 50th year in 2021. Even though it’s called a “community” helpline, it takes calls from all over the country. The helpline has 70 volunteers who answer more than 1,000 calls a month. Community Helpline’s phones are staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Pacific time zone) every day. Savannah Leslie is Community Helpline’s organizational supervisor. She was inspired by her years of
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volunteering at the call center when she was in high school to take on this position. “We show callers we are here for them and they are not alone,” Leslie says. “They can hear in our voice and in our words that we actually care. And when you’re going through a crisis, we don’t give you a time limit. If you’re going through something, we’re not going to shut you down.” Community Helpline’s location is kept private for security reasons. Volunteers take three-hour shifts multiple times a month on a rotating basis. After 25 hours of training in mental health, substance and domestic abuse, interpersonal conflict, suicide and more, and 12 hours of mentored training on the phone lines, they begin to take calls on their own.
