Crisis Line takes last calls

United Way begins effort to fill void in Will and Grundy counties

After 44 years of providing emotional and mental health support, Crisis Line of Will and Grundy Counties will take its final calls Monday.

Years of financial hardships and funding cuts made earlier this year prompted the social service agency to make the call to shut down.

The Crisis Line of Will and Grundy Counties also will still maintain its website at www.willfinduhelp.org for those seeking social service assistance or information about community-based services. Officials encourage those in need of mental health assistance, suicide prevention or intervention to call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.

Crisis Line of Will and Grundy Counties, which receives funding through the United Way of Will County, takes about 30,000 to 35,000 calls for help annually. Though known as a suicide and prevention service, the not-forprofit agency also provided assistance to those seeking information about domestic violence programs or rental assistance.

The agency, run largely by trained volunteers, also offered a Reassurance Call program that made well-being or reminder calls to senior citizens and others who signed up.

“This was not an easy decision,” said Michele Batara, executive director of the Crisis Line. “Thiswas not something that any of us wanted, but you can’t keep going if there is no funding.”

Batara said the agency has long battled financial issues and operated on a budget of about $200,000 annually that barely covered expenses, let alone expand services or set aside a cushion to absorb funding cuts.

Batara said the agency lost about $50,000 in funding from the United Way of Will County and a $50,000grant that provided funding for the Reassurance Calls program. She said there was not enough time to raise the money needed to continue, and even if they could it likely would only put

off the inevitable.

“We have been struggling for a while,” Batara said.

She said the COVID-19 pandemic also would have made fundraising difficult.

“We always seem to come out of it by the skin of our teeth, but this time there was not enough time to turn it around,” she said. “Once we realized just how much we were cut there was just no other option.”

She said Crisis Line workers and volunteers have been informing callers Crisis Line will no longer take calls and direct people to the national hotline or to the organization’s website for assistance.

The United Way of Will County also is working toward establishing a 211 line to help fill the void left by the closure. United Way of Will County Interim Director Sarah Oprzedek said the not-for-profit offered to work with Crisis Line to keep it open, but Batara and board members had already made the decision.

It likely will take at least 12 to 18 months before a 211 line is up and running, Oprzedek said, as work is just beginning and the United Way is studying what needs to be done to establish the network for a 211 line.

Funding for a 211 line could be a challenge. Oprzedek said estimated a 211 line could take about $500,000 to run. Part of the ongoing study will focus on funding, she said.

“All we can do is look to put one foot in front of the other and see what we can do together with our community to make sure we bring this service back,” she said.