Veterans

The people who answer that Crisis Line are NOT mental health care professionals. They are average, every-day people with little or no education in mental health, much less in suicide prevention.

I knew someone who called in to that line one night during a terrible crisis in his world (family issues, unfaithful partner), only to be given some of the most useless, worthless "counseling" in the world. Fortunately, he then called one last person, who called EVERY one of his friends, and we all went to his house immediately to help him work his way through his nightmare.

WHY they allow people with no background in mental health or no training whatsoever in suicide prevention to answer those calls is beyond my comprehension.