The Power of a Voice - Saving Lives One Call at a Time

For Carrie Shultz*, saving lives is part of her daily routine at the Boys Town National Hotline.

"Everyday that I work at the Hotline, I am where I need to be," said Schultz.

Last year alone, Schultz and her teammates, also highly trained crisis counselors, handled nearly 500,000 calls - more than 30,000 of which were from youth where counselors intervened to save the caller's life or provide therapeutic counseling. More than 7 million people have found help, healing and hope - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - through the Boys Town National Hotline, since its inception in 1989.

"Calls range from depression, suicide and abuse...to mental illness and loneliness," said Schultz. "A lot of these people cannot afford counseling, and so they treat us as a touch stone."

Prior to joining Boys Town, Schultz graduated with a Masters of Counseling degree and worked as an elementary and high school counselor. She then went through Boys Town's intense Crisis Counselor Training Program. Although Schultz had experience as a counselor, the training she received at Boys Town really prepared her for the types of calls that she would receive.

"At least half of the evening calls are suicide related. But everything comes along with that, depression, loneliness, family issues, drug abuse, etcetera," said Schultz. "It does not mean it is suicide in progress, but the majority of calls in the evening are suicidal ideation."

Schultz had only been in her new job for a month when her crisis training was put to work. A middle aged woman who was prepared to commit suicide called for help. Schultz was well prepared.

Schultz followed the appropriate steps. She could hear the woman handling a gun, but she was able to keep the woman talking. Schultz worked diligently with Antonia Catalina*, her supervisor that evening, to get the woman's family and local police on the phone. When police arrived at the woman's home, they could see her in the window holding a gun. Schultz worked intensely, yet calmly, to get the woman to set the gun down.

"I was really honest, I told her, 'It is making me nervous. I am scared for you,'" Schultz remembered. "She said, 'We need to be honest. People need to understand the vulnerability, the frailty.'"

One hour into the call, and with Schultz's advice, the woman set the gun down. When the situation was safe, police entered the home and took the uninjured woman to a local hospital.

"I have been at the Hotline more than 10 years and we deal with very serious situations," said Catalina. "I had a sense this woman was going to commit suicide. I had a sick feeling. But Carrie was able to talk the woman down."

After a call like that, Catalina thought Schultz would surely need to take some time off. "After the call was over and everything turned out ok, I went over to Carrie to see if she needed to go home, but she was taking calls two minutes later," recalled Catalina. "She does an amazing job."

Now a veteran at the Boys Town National Hotline, Schultz says she learns new strategies every day from her fellow Crisis Counselors. "I am telling you, they are good," says Schultz about her teammates. "They are very, very good."

Schultz appreciates being a part of such a unique team. "I can counsel the person on the other end of the line and somebody else is supporting me in the background. I have no doubt that I am going to get good backup," she said.

Through translator services, the Boys Town National Hotline has the capability to take calls for many languages, and English and Spanish-speaking counselors are on staff nightly. Schultz is bilingual and can help Spanish speaking callers as well as English. "I take about five Spanish speaking calls per night, mainly adults calling in because they are worried about their child," Schultz said.

Schultz is just one member of the Hotline team that uses many skills to save lives each and every day. The team looks forward to using their voices as a means of making a positive impact on the other end of the line. If you need help, healing and hope, please call the Boys Town National Hotline at 1-800-448-3000.

During the month of November, the Boys Town National Hotline public service announcement and phone number will appear twice per hour on the New York Times Square?s 1,400 square-foot Panasonic Astrovision Screen, one of the highest-profile outdoor venues in the country. Read more...

* For confidentiality purposes the real names of the Boys Town employees are not being used. The caller's confidentiality has also been preserved.