Changes at NEED

The crisis lines may be closed but Our Community Education Program will remain active.

NEED will continue serving the Capital Regional District by providing expert education and training related to suicide prevention, intervention and postvention. Stayed tuned for more information.

On February 1 we received news from the Vancouver Island Health Authority that they have chosen Central Vancouver Island Crisis Society to deliver the consolidated, VIHA wide, crisis line service. This will be a centralized crisis line that will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and serve all of VIHA. This means that NEED will not be offering a 24 Hour crisis line after June 30, 2010. We will provide more information about the transitional process as it becomes available and you can go to www.cvics.ca for more information. New phone numbers will be published as they are needed.

We are very sad that we will not be continuing to be your local crisis and information line. To all of our cherished callers we want to assure you that there will be a crisis line which will operate 24/7.  The Central Vancouver Island Crisis Line, based in Naniamo, is a well established service and will provide all callers with competent support. .

To all of our current and previous volunteers we wish to express our heartfelt thanks for all of the dedication you have shown to NEED and to NEEED callers. For almost 39 years volunteers have been the back bone of this agency, providing compassionate support and understanding to thousands of callers each year. We deeply regret that NEED will no longer have the capacity to train volunteers who then contribute greatly to the mental well being of this geographic region.

Our plans are to continue our public education programs: we will continue to provide Suicide Awareness for Youth and Peer Gatekeeper Training in middle and high schools in the Capital Regional District. We will also offer Peer Gatekeeper Training for Seniors and develop new programs as resources allow.

Thank you to all of those in the community, including our agency partners and funders, who have provided NEED volunteers and staff with moral support and encouragment over the last few months. We thank you for your kindness and expressions of confidence.

With heart felt thanks,

Joyalle Bunyan-Maynard

Acting Executive Director,

NEED Crisis and Information Line

Victoria BC

                    For the Spring 2010 Issue of NEEDlines click here

          For the Summer 2009 Issue of NEEDLines click here