MWF Resources

What is Crisis Line

Crisis Line - 893-7603 or 893-7606
A Free Community Service
Mondays to Fridays 9:00 am to 9:00 pm

Stress in everyday life in the Philippines is evident. Metro Manila, the Philippines' 
capital, advances in its endeavor to compete with other growing cities. As residents 
adapt to the fast-paced life, there are emotional and psychological consequences 
such as pressing relationship issues, marital problems, work stress, overseas work, 
spouse, child, substance and drug abuses, poverty, traffic, health problems, natural 
calamities, crime and suicide.

In Touch Community Services, Inc.'s Crisis Line attends to these issues by giving 
free, confidential telephone counseling, community information and referral 
services. Anybody may access the Crisis Line by dialing 893-7603 or 893-7606.

Crisis Line Profile

* Crisis Line receives approximately 250 calls a month.
* Majority of callers are Filipinos and a number of calls also come from expatriates 
and other individuals outside of the Metro Manila area.
* Callers are from all walks of life - from working professionals to high school 
students - and from all age range.
* Callers talk about marital and relationship problems, depression, difficulties in 
adjusting to a new environment, school difficulties, and peer problems.

Volunteer Counselors

Staffed by a multicultural and multiracial cadre of English and Tagalog-speaking 
volunteers who have gone through an extensive 6-week training on phone 
counseling.

Challenges

* Crisis Line is still unable to tap the high awareness level of the community 
   for its free and confidential telephone counseling service.
* There is a tremendous need for promotion for its services to the public.
* More telephone lines and committed volunteers are needed. 
* Current volunteers need periodic upgrading of their skills in specific areas, 
   especially those that come with a fast growing economy: work stress, health 
   problems, normal child development, and family separation.

What the future holds

With individual contributions and local and multinational corporate support:
* ITCS will be able to expand Crisis Line to become a multi line, and multi-lingual, 
   24-hour operation.
* Two telephone lines will need to be added in order to meet the increasing 
   number of calls.
* More volunteers, from various cultural and professional backgrounds will be 
   recruited and trained to reflect the diversity of the community that 
   Crisis Line serves.
* Transportation and meal allowance subsidy will be provided to the volunteers 
   who man the line.
* The data bank and caller profile will be transferred into a computerized data 
   base for periodic analysis to inform staff on how to further improve the 
   counseling, information and referral services provided. This database will provide 
   rich historic information on how Crisis Line is helping the community cope with 
   the stresses of everyday living.

Since 1984, Crisis Line has:

* Given relevance to emotional and psychological needs of the community;
* Been providing emotional first aid to men, women and children exhausted 
   by stress, pressing relationships, poverty, and other persisting factors;
* Been providing information access through its current data and referral bank;
* Been referring callers to support services around Metro Manila that cater to 
   further access face-to-face counseling; and
* Served as a very significant tool for advocacy and education on the 
   prevention of HIV/AIDS, drug and substance abuse, child and spouse abuse 
   and other issues.

The longest running hotline in the country to date, Crisis Line provides 
non-sectarian, non-judgmental services that entertain a wide scope of problems 
from different age range. 

Individual and corporate support needed

To meet the growing challenges faced by Crisis Line volunteers and staff, and 
to implement ITCS future plans to expand and improve Crisis Line services; 
individual and corporate support is needed. Since ITCS is a non-profit, 
non-governmental organization, corporate contributions are tax deductible.

For more information on how to support Crisis Line, please call 

In Touch Community Services, Inc.
Tel#s: 810-2333 / 893-1893, or Fax# 893-1892
E-mail: intouch@i-manila.com.ph
URL: http:// www.in-touch.org

Meena Sehwani
Crisis Line Coordinator
Tel#: 893-1893 or Cell#: 0918-7428089
E-mail: crisisline@i-manila.com.ph

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