Kindness Plug

This year, 1-800-SUICIDE will observe their tenth anniversary since being established in 1998 by Reese Butler. The organization was founded in memory of Reese’s wife, Kristin, who committed suicide. Since that time, The Kristin Brooks Hope Center has provided help to nearly three million callers. However, the 1-800-SUICIDE hotline is currently in need of some assistance of its own.

Over the past decade, The Kristin Brooks Hope Center and 1-800-SUICIDE have been able to provide help to so many people through the Hopeline network. With your support and with the support of TWLOHA and PostSecret, they will be able to continue to provide this assistance, along with the comfort of complete confidentiality. The unique services that are currently provided and the services that they will be able to provide in the future are what makes Hopeline such a valuable asset to our society.

"With your support, we can work together to prevent tragedy and to stand with Hopeline in this pivotal moment. In moments of bravery and confusion and honesty, people turn to 1-800-SUICIDE - nearly three million of them. The folks at Hopeline have been answering those calls for ten years, picking up the phone when it's mattered most. Now it's our turn. This is our moment to respond," says To Write Love on Her Arms founder, Jamie Tworkowski.

"I think TWLOHA and PostSecret are very special websites and communities... These communities are precious, fragile, strong and meaningful... What a thrill to be combining forces to help Reese Butler and Hopeline. I have been working with Reese since 2005 and before that I was a volunteer answering Hopeline calls at a Hopeline crisis center. I personally know the good works that Reese is behind and truly appreciate all the time and effort you all are contributing to. I believe it is some of the most important work being done on the planet," says PostSecret founder Frank Warren.

As a result of the many calls that 1-800-SUICIDE receives every day, and because of a delay in government funding, Hopeline is struggling to pay their phone bill. If this bill is not paid, the government will be allowed to fully take control of 1-800-SUICIDE. Part of what makes Hopeline such a powerful resource is that the calls placed to this number are completely private and confidential. We believe that the responsibility for providing a private and confidential environment in which to find help should remain in the hands of those who had the heart and compassion to begin this work ten years ago.

For this reason, TWLOHA is encouraging everyone to support the Pick Up The Phone campaign by donating directly to the Kristin Brooks Hope Center, buying a Pick Up The Phone t-shirt (coming soon) or joining the Hopeline 99 Club. The money that comes from these donations will be used to help pay the phone bill that connects about 50,000 callers each month to the National Hopeline Network and keep 1-800-SUICIDE in the hands of The Kristin Brooks Hope Center. This support also paves the way for future services, such as training of online counselors to provide assistance through one-on-one live Internet chat.

In order to continue making this necessary help available, we must all work together to pay this phone bill and keep 1-800-SUICIDE a private and confidential source of help and hope. With your help and support, together we can prevent tragedy from occurring and help Hopeline stay in the private hands of the people who had the heart to create it.

To Write Love on Her Arms is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire, and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.

www.hopeline.com / www.twloha.com