Maybe you've seen the poster: on one side the caption reads, “every 17 minutes, someone dies by suicide,” and on the other, “and every 18 minutes, someone is left to wonder why.” CrisisLink is about saving lives and preventing tragedies--on both sides. Volunteer-founded, it offers skilled listeners 24/7 (the only hotline in Greater Washington to do so) as well as free, confidential trauma and suicide information and referral. There's a youth outreach and education initiative (You Talk, We Listen); a daily telephone check-in for elderly and disabled citizens (CareRing); and crisis response in the aftermath of disaster. Fielding more than 15,000 calls a year--more than a half million since its founding in 1969--this small staff. with its strong base of committed volunteers (4,500 have been trained in suicide prevention in the last three years), helps people find more positive ways of coping. For the truly life-saving, life-changing work they do, CrisisLink was awarded the first-ever National Crisis Center Excellence Award, and also the ABBIE Award for Best Nonprofit Business by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. To a lonely senior, a wounded soldier just back from Iraq, or a teenage girl in trouble, “I’m listening” has a powerful, healing effect. Won't you join the conversation?

Carol Loftur-Thun, Executive Director 2503D N Harrison Street, Suite 114 Arlington, VA 22207 703-527-6603 www.crisislink.org