CrisisLink, an Arlington-based hotline for distressed individuals, honored several of its volunteers at its annual volunteer awards gala and silent auction on June 7.
Riqui’ J. Patrick received the first ever Hopeline Hero Award for staying on the line with a suicidal caller in grave physical and emotional distress and obtaining necessary life-saving information so a rescue could be sent.
Patrick realized that the severely depressed caller, who was high on crack cocaine, was having difficulty breathing. Through the rapport Patrick built with her caller, she was able to convince him to provide her with his address at a motel room in Washington, D.C. Patrick called an ambulance, and paramedics arrived in time to administer life-saving first aid and transport him to a hospital.
Kathryn Kiley was honored for gracefully handling a phone call from a gun-holding suicidal teenager. The caller was being threatened with daily violence and had been ostracized by her friends and family half-way through her senior year of high school because she had told them she was gay. Just when she thought life could not get worse, the girl’s mother had kicked her out of the house.
Because the girl had chosen to use caller-ID block, Kiley was unable to trace the call and initiate a 911 intervention. Instead, she used her training in listening and de-escalation skills to shift the focus of the conversation and get the girl to put her gun down. Kiley recognized the girl’s overwhelming sense of isolation and lack of acceptance and was able to get her to consider options other than suicide, such as hot lines and support organizations for gay, lesbian, and questioning youth.
Dale Gardner was presented with a Hotline Hero award for keeping a cool head in a potentially disastrous situation involving a teen-ager who was going to kill himself in front of a roomful of taunting teen-agers.
The boy’s focus switched back and forth between Gardner’s efforts to de-escalate the situation and the group of partygoers who were belittling him. At one point, the boy loudly demanded that one of his tormentors bring him a gun that was in the house.
Gardner stayed calm, despite his mounting concerns that the caller would injure or kill himself and others. When Gardner determined that someone had indeed retrieved a gun from somewhere else in the home, he started to inform the boy caller that help must be sent.
The boy hung up. Gardner immediately called the police, who were able to remove the desperate boy from the scene unharmed. No one else was harmed in the incident.
Brian Kelly and Dick Harless were given Hotline Hero awards for working in tandem to save the life of a man determined to commit suicide.
Kelly took a call from a man who wanted advice on how to prepare his dad for the caller’s death by suicide. The man, a business professional, had systematically researched the successful completion of suicide and had saved up a lethal dose of medications. The caller was detailed and methodical in stating his intentions and his plans to achieve his goal and did not want to discuss alternatives. His plan was to tie up remaining loose ends and then sometime in the next few weeks or months, follow through with his suicide plan. He rejected Kelly’s offer of a call back at a later date and resisted Kelly’s request that he promise to call CrisisLink when the time had come. Because death was not imminent, rescue was not dispatched.
A few weeks later, CrisisLink volunteer Harless answered a call from the same man who had spoken to Kelly. The man said that another volunteer had made him promise to call if he ever decided to kill himself. He said he was dissolving a lethal dose of medication into a fifth of alcohol. The man resisted Harless’ attempts to get him to talk about his family, his life and possible alternatives to suicide. Harless called 911, while he continued to talk to the man, who had started to drink the lethal cocktail. When paramedics arrived at the scene, the man refused to let them in, but Harless convinced him to open the door. Harless stayed on the line until a paramedic told him over the phone that the situation was under control and that Harless had saved the man’s life.
The Virginia Association of Free Clinics, which serves 37 Free Clinics in the state, released the results of its most recent survey of member clinics and the services they provide. The survey found that in 2001:
* Virginia Free Clinics provided $40,647,381 of health care services to 44,720 low-income, uninsured and underinsured Virginians.
* Free clinics in the Commonwealth provided 91.605 primary care visits worth $7,786,190; 18,102 specialty care visits worth $2,959,204; and 8,438 dental visits worth $1,078,702.
* 48 Virginia hospitals and 21 laboratory service providers donated $6,145,660 of in-kind services to Free Clinic patients.
* 398,021 prescription medications worth $22,433,621 were provided by Virginia’s Free Clinics.
Free clinics are private, nonprofit, community-based organizations that provide health care at little or no charge to low-income, uninsured and underinsured people. The rely on volunteer health professionals and charitable contributions. According to the survey, during 2001, 7,524 Virginians volunteered in free clinics, including 2,306 physicians, 210 nurse practitioners, 85 physician assistants, 1,087 nurses, 363 dentists, 268 pharmacists, 32 mental health counselors, 501 other health care professionals, and 2,672 non-clinical volunteers.
The Arlington Free Clinic is located at 2926 S. Columbia Pike. Call 703-979-1400.
CrisisLink and Arlington Whole Foods are holding a summer grilling day to benefit CrisisLink’s programs on June 26 from 6-9 p.m. at the Arlington Whole Foods Market located at 2700 Wilson Blvd. Cost range is 50 cents- $2. Call 703-527-6596.
Virginia Hospital Center, 1701 N. George Mason Drive, will present the following programs. Times and locations are indicated. Call to register at 703-558-5000:
* Massage. Learn about the benefits of massage therapy, the different techniques used and the history of massage. Find a qualified massage therapist and what to expect from your first massage. Class will be held at 1439 N. Quincy St. on Thursday, June 20, from 6-7:30 p.m. Cost is $15.
* Pain Management. A workshop on the different aspects of pain vs. discomfort will be held on Thursday, June 20, from 7-9 p.m. at 1311 South Fern St. Learn relaxation techniques including visualization. Cost is $25.
* Vegetarianism. Registered dietitian Lise Glode discusses how a vegetarian diet can help develop a healthy lifestyle, as long as the diet includes the right nutrients, on Monday, June 24, from 6-7 p.m., in the John T. Hazel, M.D., Conference Center.
* Smoking Cessation. Four sessions will meet twice weekly with instructor Cathy Turner beginning Monday, June 24, from 7:15-8:15 p.m. Group meets at 1439 N. Quincy St. Cost is $40.
* Feeling Dizzy? Connie Krause describes the hospital’s new vestibular program and explains how it can help individuals regain their balance on Thursday, June 27, from 6-7 p.m., in the John T. Hazel, M.D., Conference Center.
The Arlington Center for Well-Being, at 3800 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 5, offers workshops throughout the year. Call 703-522-7710 to register, confirm times and for fees:
* Inner Transformation, a weekly support group for people who want to look at personal issues that get in the way of healthy relationships. Requires a minimum six-week commitment on Sundays at 5 p.m. Cost is $45 per session.
* Depressives Action Group meets during the day on Wednesdays for people with mild depression. The group provides emotional support, and a task support system will help get through the week. Cost is $30 per session.
* Being Heard, Being Healed is a weekly group giving members a place to share their stories and experiences for a healing transformation. Meets Thursdays, from 8-10 p.m.
* Goal Buddies is a four-week class to learn a system of support used by a network of people who assist and encourage others in making their lives work. Begins July 1. Cost is $20 per session or $75 per class.
Support for People with Mental Disabilities:
The Children and Adolescents Network Support Group. Call Ellen Storck at 703-534-3440.
* Arlington Alliance for the Mentally Ill will host its monthly support group meeting for family members and friends of persons suffering mental illness at 7:30 p.m. June 25 at Mount Olivet Methodist Church, 1500 N. Glebe Road. Call Richard and Betsy Greer at 703-525-8616.
* Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorders. Meets weekly on Wednesdays, from 7-9 p.m., at the Northern Virginia Mental Health Institute, 3302 Gallows Road in Falls Church. Call Shannon Flynn at 703-527-0370.
* Depressive and Manic Depressives. Meets the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 7 p.m. at Falls Church Community Center, 223 N. Little Falls St. in Falls Church. Call Barbara Solow at 703-620-5538 or Marshall Epstein at 703-849-9401.
* Northern Virginia Mental Health Consumers Association. Meets the first Sunday of each month, at 4 p.m., at Independence Center, 3100 Clarendon Blvd. Call 703-978-3017, Ext. 30.
Narcotics Anonymous is a support group for people who want to turn their life around from using drugs. The group meets at Drew Community Center, 3500 S. 24th St., on Tuesdays from 7:30-9 p.m. Call John Robinson at 703-979-7300.
The Arlington County Seniors in Action program offers a wide range of activities for seniors 55 and over. Fitness programs include aerobic exercise classes, strength training, walking groups, water aerobics, line dancing, square dancing, tennis, bowling, golf, yoga and Tai Chi. Seniors may join the Senior Adult Programs for $5 annually and access all activities. In some instances, an additional cost, such as a $2 fee for a class, may be necessary. Call 703-228-4744.
* Cyber Seniors/Cyber Teens is a program of youths teaching seniors how to use the computer, Internet and e-mail. Each course consists of four 1-hour sessions taught at a local school or senior center at a cost of $20 per class. Currently there are three basic instruction courses being offered, a health-related course and classes in Word and Excel. Individuals over 50 are eligible to register for the classes by calling Joyce Bissonette at 703-228-6425.
* Senior Wellness. The Office of Senior Adult Programs meets weekly with seniors at Aurora Hills and Lee senior action centers. Learn ways to access county services and programs available to seniors. Meetings are held at Aurora Hills, 735 S. 18th St., on Mondays at 10 a.m., and at Lee, 5722 Lee Highway, on Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. There is no fee.
* Fitness and Exercise. Seniors who belong to the county’s Office of Senior Adult Programs, Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, are eligible to use the fitness and exercise equipment at Thomas Jefferson Community Center, 3501 S. Second St., free of charge. Hours are Monday-Friday, from 6:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Participants pay a $5 annual registration fee.
* Bingo is held Mondays and Fridays at 1 p.m. at Culpepper Garden Senior Action Center, Fridays at 11:15 a.m. at Gunston/Drew and bilingual bingo, Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. at Dawson Terrace. Call 703-228-4744.
* Bridge, poker, and canasta are available at Lee Senior Action Center, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Call 703-228-0555.
* Tai Chi classes are held weekly at four senior centers. Call 703-228-4744 for the nearest center.