Helpline still on the other end of phone

BY JOHN L. GUERRA

Konk Life Staff Writer

 

If in the throes of alcoholism, ejected from your house by an abusive spouse, suicidal or depressed to the point of immobility — especially if it’s 3 a.m. — who are you supposed to call?

For years, it was Helpline, officially known as Helpline of the Florida Keys, Inc. Since 1982, it didn’t matter what time, where you were in the Keys, or how much money you had. Didn’t know where to start? The answer to your question was to call Helpline.

Thankfully, in spite of the hotline’s recent financial troubles, Helpline is still on the phone line for people in crisis.

That’s because another hotline — and Keys residents who donate money to the Helpline organization — reached out and put the venerable crisis hotline back on its feet.

Here’s Mary Hoover, the former chairperson of Helpline Inc. and now fundraising and outreach coordinator for Monroe County talking about Switchboard Miami, which took Helpline into its network in March.

“Over the last several years, Helpline found it increasingly difficult to continue to provide these services due to lack of funding, lost grants and a struggle for fundraising dollars,” Hoover told Konk Life this week. “It was with serious trepidation that Helpline’s board voted unanimously to dissolve the non-profit corporation at the end of 2013. At the same time, the board vowed to search and find another organization to fill the void that Helpline’s closing would leave.”

According to Hoover, Switchboard of Miami acquired Helpline on March 31, so the crisis hotline is only slightly renamed. It’s now called Switchboard 2-1-1 Helpline of The Florida Keys. And the two organizations know each other: As a subcontractor to Helpline, Switchboard had been providing 2-1-1 service to Monroe County for the past two years, Hoover said.

“Helpline continues to fully operate and provide the services needed by Monroe County residents,” Hoover said. Here’s the part where we put the number in:  It’s 305-296-HELP (4357) or 2-1-1.

Switchboard, around since 1968, provides comprehensive telephone crisis counseling, suicide prevention and information and referral services around the clock. It also counsels individuals and families, provides developmental screens for kids, and works with high-risk kids and their families through local schools.

Visitors, as well as locals, rely on the service for referrals, such as where to find an AA or other 12-step meeting; where to take a pet during storms, and how to contact social services organizations, Hoover said.

The new Helpline also focuses on senior citizens in the Keys by ensuring that someone is in touch with the elders by phone or in person.

“Our telephone reassurance program for seniors helps prevent loneliness and maintains their well-being,” she said.

Key West residents already know Mary Lou Hoover, even though they may not know that she built prisons for a living.

“I moved here is 2001 after a 35- year career in prison construction and construction consulting,” Hoover told Konk Life. “I decided to get into a new line of work and did some reservation service and tours and trips sales. Then I met my future husband, Charlie Waite, owner of Sturtz Lock & Safe. We started to get more involved in community service as a team.”

Hoover, however, knows where decisions are made. She was elected (by fundraising) to one of the most influential positions in the city.

“In 2007, I ran for and became Queen of Fantasy Fest,” Hoover said. “I also served on the Key West Business Guild board of directors as membership coordinator.”

Her pet project is Girls Night Out, more than 2,000 women “on my email and FacebookGNO page.” GNO promotes businesses, organizations, events and fundraisers and focuses on art, music, health, sports and other topics that interest women.

 

“Each month I produce a Girls Night Out event at a local venue and we raise money for a local non-profit,” she said.

 

Speaking of fundraisers, Helpline’s is coming up. The 2-1-1 Helpline of the Keys’ annual fundraiser, the Caribbean Street Fair, takes place July 19 on Duval Street during Hemingway Days. Hoover said it’s important to remember that Helpline still needs financial support from donors and always needs volunteers.

“Though you might not have needed to call — and it is good you haven’t had to — they’ve been there for 34 years just in case.”

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