Distress Centre seeks recruits to offer emotional support

The Distress Centre of Windsor-Essex County is looking for volunteers to provide emotional support and emergency crisis interventions to people seeking help in the area.

Distress Centre Executive Director Rukshini Ponniah said calls have continued to increase over the past few years, because of economic conditions such as unemployment, as well as a trend of reaching out for support before it reaches a crisis.

Ponniah said the increase in call volumes (as high as 50% for some months over the 2009 numbers), means they need more volunteers to the man the phones from noon until midnight.

The centre's training team is actively recruiting interested candidates who would like to offer their support to those in need.

"We need people who are good listeners and are non-judgmental above all else," said Ponniah. "Our volunteers need to be able to listen to people, support them through whatever they're going through, encourage them, and provide them with community resources if they need further help."

Training candidates must be over 19 and be able to work in a sometimes stressful environment. They will need to pass through an extensive training process which begins October 4, and must be willing to work a minimum of 16 hours per month over a period of 12 months.

In 2010, almost 4,000 area residents reached out for support from the trained volunteers.

Anyone interested in volunteering at the Distress Centre should e-mail DistressCentreWE@gmail.com with their availability for a brief phone interview before September 23. For more information, interested candidates are encouraged to visit the centre's website, www.dcwindsor.com, to learn more about the organization, the service it provides the community, and the Volunteer Training Program and Opportunity itself.

Those needing emotional support, crisis intervention, suicide prevention, or community referrals, are encouraged to call 519-256-5000 between 12 noon and 12 midnight any day of the year.