On March 1 the University of Alabama will be launching a UA Crisis Hotline for students who attend the university. This is for people who may be struggling with issues such as depression and anxiety. Students can text “Bama” to 741-741 to be connected with a live volunteer who is trained in crisis intervention.
Senior and SGA member Caroline Miller has been working on this project since September and after a lot of hard work the hotline will start next month. The hotline is here to help students who may be going through a hard time and dealing with the stress that comes along with college. We all know that there are manny stressors out there. Sometimes all it takes is a conversation to help alleviate the situation.
“We have so many great services on this campus that a lot of people just do not know about and there’s not a centralized way for people to find out about everything that the university offers," Miller said. "Sometimes people do not feel completely comfortable going to the counseling center, talking to a therapist or a counselor, and they need that kind of stepping stool to help them get there."
Students can get involved with the UA crisis line and become a trained volunteer by going online to crisistextline.org. You can go through an 8-week training process to learn how to handle differing situations and become trained in crisis intervention.
“We are training people to be an empathetic ear for someone to talk to, not really give advice. This isn’t something you’re going to text and it will solve all of your problems for you,” Miller said. “It is really just validating your fears and concerns and letting you know that you are not alone.”
The crisis line is here for students, and they should take advantage of it if they are dealing with stress, feeling homesick, or struggling with more serious issues that they do not know how to handle.
