SEPTEMBER 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 35
CHARITY SPOTLIGHT
LONG ISLAND CRISIS CENTER ANSWERING THE CALL
Courtesy Long Island Crisis Center.
BY BRIANA BONFIGLIO
For the past 50 years, the Long Island
Crisis Center (LICC) has provided an
invaluable resource to Long Islanders
suffering mental health crises: a 24/7
suicide prevention hotline.
While it started as a single hotline in
1971, the crisis intervention center has
expanded in the five decades since.
The Bellmore-based organization now
takes calls from seven different hotlines
assisting individuals in crisis or
contemplating suicide. It also has online
and mobile chat services for people in
crisis, which is available weeknights
from 7 to 11 p.m., and a host of community
programs that educate people about
mental health and suicide prevention.
“Anybody can call our hotline anytime,
day or night, any day of the year, and
talk to a trained counselor,” says Assistant
Director Katie Stoll. “Counselors
are trained to listen, be nonjudgmental,
and to support and empower the
person on the other end of the phone
to come to their own decisions.”
LICC’s volunteer counselors get six
months of intensive training before
taking calls. Since LICC offers a shortterm
crisis response service, counselors
often refer people to long-term counseling,
rehabilitation, group therapy,
housing, or other assistance, by searching
a database of hundreds of facilities
available to Long Islanders in need.
Aside from immediate support, LICC
combats suicide with its community
mental health education and Pride for
Youth division.
In the past, LICC volunteers would
teach mental health lessons at schools;
however, since the coronavirus
pandemic, LICC has presented all its
programming via Zoom and Google
Meets. There are several different lessons,
including Managing Emotions,
Cyberbullying, and Let’s Talk Mental
Health.
“We are prepared to
present our programs
virtually or in person,”
Stoll says.
However, another program,
Suicide Prevention
in Adolescents, has
been discontinued until
counselors can see students
in person.
“We like to do it in person in case a
student is triggered by anything we
say and needs support immediately
after,” Stoll says.
Since 1993, LICC’s Pride for Youth has
offered resources for young members
of the LGBTQ+ community, including
counseling for youth and their parents,
support groups, HIV testing, and community
education. These programs
help improve mental health for the
LGBTQ+ population, which has suicide
rates up to three times higher than
heterosexual youth.
LICC will hold its annual fundraiser,
Making Moves for Suicide Prevention,
from Sept. 17-19. The virtual run, walk,
and cycling event will use the racing
app JustMove to log miles and raise
funds for LICC’s lifesaving work. For
more information, visit longislandcrisiscenter.
org.
For those in need of support, the Long
Island Crisis Center’s 24/7 hotline is
516-679-1111.
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