C6 - Sunday, June 3, 1984 - North Shore News Answering people in need ““CRISIS Centre, may I help you?’’ Since the Vancouver Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre took its first call in 1969, these words have greeted more than 30,000 calls a year from people in distress. Now approaching its 15th anniversary (June 4-10 is Crisis Centre Week, and numerous activities are plan- ned in the Greater Vancouver area), the centre is again ex- panding its services to meet a community need. Starting later in June, the centre. will provide a youth counselling concerns of young people. ‘“‘The youth service will parallel our existing telephone counselling service in that callers in distress can cal! and receive confidential responses from trained volunteers,’’ says executive director, Gary Mavis. ‘*The difference is that this new service will focus on troubled young people in their teens and early 20’s, and the volunteers taking calls will be in the same age group. These peer counsellors will be trained to deal with the specific concerns of youth.’’ the centre include: A 24-hour, seven days a week distress line to help people cope more effectively with their problems through telephone counselling and referrals. As well as assisting people in distress, the distress line attempts to resolve situa- uons and teach coping skills before a crisis becomes acute. Flying Squad — a male/female emergency team that will, on request, visit and personally counsel a severely distressed person. The Flying Squad operates between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. and serves as services in the community. A Senior Line that reaches seniors who, for medical or social reasons, feel isolated from the community. This service involves weekly calls or visits from. special volunteers. Service for the deaf — in conjunction with the Western Institute for the Deaf, the centre provides crisis in- tervention and an_ urgent message relay service for over 1,500 members of the deaf community. Adolescent Suicide Preven- film, ‘‘Urgent Messages’’ this service is mainly directed to students, parents and professionals. Community training and education — orientation and training sessions are held regularly for volunteers, pro- fessionals, students and agencies. The focal point of the cen- tre, however, remains the distress lines. Calls involve such areas as depression, loneliness, marital and family problems, school and work related difficulties, drug and Nearly 10 per cent of the calls have a suicide component. **Yes, we are confronted with suicide calls, often on a daily basis,’’ Mavis says. ‘“‘But our volunteers have been trained to handle such calls. They receive 50 hours of intensive training and workshops before they go on the phones. Plus, there are many resources both within and outside the centre that they can turn to when dealing with calls.’’ The primary function of the centre, Mavis says, is to role is to listen in order to determine the needs of the caller. Sometimes, all the caller needs is an empathetic ear. Only after the volunteer has an indication of the caller’s needs, does he/she offer assistance, either during the course of the call or by referring the caller to a specialized agency in the field. We don’t tell callers what to do. We listen, give support and input, but the final choice of action is always with the caller.’’ Mavis believes that the im- anonymity of the services makes the centre very ap- proachable and puts the cen- tre in a position to respond to problems before they become acute. ‘‘The crisis line is strictly confidential, which makes it easier for some peo- ple to talk about their pro- blems frankly. Also, because the counselling is done by telephone, people can discuss their problems right on the spot, instead of having to make an appointment for face-to-face counselling.’’ Mavis adds that the pen- C7 - Sunday, June 3, 1984 - North Shore News both within and outside the centre. ‘‘No agency in the ci- ty currently offers such a peer counselling service. At the same time, a number of studies conclude that teenagers are far less likely than any other age group to confide in those who are not in their age group. These are the years young people must learn to cope with changing relationships within the fami- ly, to develop peer relation- ships to handle physical changes and how they view some people, these are dif- ficult ames. By examining how young people cope with problems we can develop a ‘‘wellness’’ model to assist in recognizing suicide-prone individuals.”’ June 4-10, Crisis Centre Week activities include: Pro- clamation Presentation, Media Presentation and An- nouncing Youth Services, June 4; Anniversary reunion, June 8 and 15, Walkathon at Stanley Park, June 10. .tion Program — utilizing the recently produced 16mm their bodies, and to establish both emotional and economic independence. For CALIFORNIA GRADE CANADA NO. 1 For further information call the Centre at 733-1171, or for Crisis, 733-4111. alcohol problems, child assist callers in dealing with mediacy of the centre (‘‘just a service to address the specific Other services offered by abuse, and a variety of fears. distress. ‘‘Our immediate a back-up to other emergency Phone call away’’) and the ding uth service has generated much excitement = “a we June is Dairy Month CALIFORNIA GRADE CANADA NO 1. Fresh. Strawberries 254,179, Summer takes us outdoors and nothing goes better with fresh air than fresh fruit. Fruit salads, fruit shakes, fruit and cheese platters — nomatterhow youserve ~— ™ it, you can almost taste thesunshine. CALIFORNIA GRADE CANADA NO. 1 Plums 19°. 89%. Peaches 2*0 19%. Fresh Cod SUPREME BLEND 7? Woodward’s Coffee Whole Roast lw. pkg 2”? FRESH Halibut Whi ‘ RYLAN in Croom Steaks Fillets 135 65 277 439,,,199,., TUTE eri i iririsiliriii til Titi irililiiiiiiililliirililliviiililii iii riiririiriiirinl Iitirlisilililliiilrivilriririrrri ii liriililililiiiitili iii 500 mI carton ASSORTED FLAVOURS Jell-O Powders 2/67" WOODWARD) S (,UT FROM CANADA (GalfRADE A BEEF Rib Steaks 6°? 299 kg. Ib. Parkay Margarine 85 g pkg. TopepoereaeopeD ED DOO RSODRODDDOODDEES BPPRDOPT TTC ODHD ERGO RA esac aeeR Wocdwards : Vora LES SOOOUARES : . POR THE LAUNDRY Shortcake 2 17 os vraeer. Food Floors f Tide Cups Fam tamem in caNn =? Cooked Ham Our Simple Guarantee (BUDGET? Detergent reat Heat strawberie a) > Miracle Whip : 19 “If you’re not satisfied f HELPER O57 hye a Wenndugatad son : 500 au 147 : 175 g pkg ] please bring it back.’ 4.8 xg pkg. 79° rer an - sesssusesennssnsssasesssasenssussssssesessssecenssssses cogsesnessussesssnennesn Tesesessuseceessssecssssssssecessssvegeesssnesessssssescousnsuaeenneusaneessanuineeseasetsen Linnie Cheese Slices S cansseas ceteenceccsssveeeccessceccccssnnneees sesete ses MONEY : WOODWARD S SUPREME BLEND : Wil WARIO. BABY FROZEN WELCH, . : UG Soecye toes yen vateneety : Mushrooms : Instant Coffee : Brussels Sprouts Grape Drink 500 ¢ pm 3.37 : D Heo & Stem. WO floz. tin 75° : 10 oz. jar 5.37 : 350 g pkg. 65° 250 m 37° : RAL | = SS ( LOVER CLAS ; > CMAN aE PE Re z FAMILY PAL Rh PEt’ NEM GOON AL TR er aA : B.B.Q. Sauce : Solid White Tuna : Lipton Tea Bags _$: Cheemo Perogies Iced Tea Mix Ban : Food Floors 7 oz. tin 1.97 100 per pkg 3. 27 : hor Sree Tg pkg 2. 57 750 g tin 2.97 : . HO a oe pas 135 : Personal Shopping June 4th to 9th LINEA = MEG VATA = « : an = QUART : —_ : We reserve the right to limit quantittes Small Shrimp : Peek Freans Biscuits : Uncle Ben’s Rice Harvest Crunch : Marshmallows GB Boom cettes ti at biwen Malan 4 oz tin 2.57 | 5 400 g Pkg. 1.77 : kg pkg. 3.27 Cereal | 2.95 Write ce borat 67 = amd Clearbrook Stocer only 900 g pkg 250 g Pkg