Madison House is home to many community service programs here at the University. There is, however, one program that is virtually unknown.
HELPline, a "confidential, anonymous, empathetic, non-directive, non-judgmental listening service," has been a program at Madison House for years, but never has gotten much publicity. A new education program, the brainchild of fourth-year College student and program director Pat English, may change that.
"We started a new thing where we take a few operators offline, so we're not taking calls anymore," said second-year College student Abigail Gardner, one of the new educators. "We want to increase publicity, which is difficult when you're supposed to be anonymous. We're doing presentations to groups where someone might know someone that could use HELPline or may find themselves in a situation where they might need us."
For the first time in the history of the program, HELPline will have a face in the Charlottesville and University communities aside from the regular program directors.
"We are doing it partly just to get our name out in the community more," fourth-year College student and HELPline program director Elise Lepple said. "Because our volunteers have to be anonymous, it's hard for just the [program directors] to get the word out to everyone that needs it."
These educators, since they do not answer calls, do not compromise the confidentiality of the service or its volunteers. This experimental program will work with groups around Grounds to increase public awareness about the function of the program.
"They will try to cater to each group," Lepple said. "Depending on what group they go to, they will also be educating people about some of the issues that are discussed."
This may enable the groups visited to educate their members and those they contact about the benefits of HELPline. The educators currently are selected from among the volunteer pool. According to English, each new educator must previously have trained to be a HELPline volunteer and been on lines for at least a semester.
"We want to make sure that anyone that's an educator for the program knows enough to tell others about it," Lepple said.
The newest educators, Gardner, along with Kate Malay, Katie Ryan and Emily Damgaard, will be traveling around Grounds this spring. Meanwhile, those interested in volunteering for HELPline can ask about the program at Madison House. Those who wish to speak with a volunteer can call 295-TALK, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week while school is in session.
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