CONTACT of Ocean and Monmouth Counties

CONTACT of Ocean County is a non-profit volunteer based organization that provides trained telephone listeners who respond to human needs, 24 hours every day by offering free, confidential crisis intervention, information and available resources as well as referrals to community services.

CONTACT is simply people helping people. Our volunteers address each caller in an accepting, non-judgmental manner. CONTACT operates on the belief that everyone has the ability to solve their problems by using their own energy. CONTACT volunteers offer support and empathy to callers, which generates a feeling of understanding, and enables them to take action on their own behalf. Through CONTACT's training program, volunteers develop empathetic listening skills to help callers determine their feelings, identify their options, and find their strengths to resolve their problems. We also make referrals, when appropriate, to various community services that are available to the caller.

On March 16, 1963, the Rev. Dr. Allan Walker, minister in the Methodist Church in Sydney, Australia founded Life Line. This was a unique program that was designed to train volunteers to be available by telephone 24 hours a day. Two years later Rev. John Brand, a minister in Dallas, Texas took the initiative to begin a similar program here in the United States. CONTACT was chosen as the name of the new ministry because Life Line was a radio station in Dallas during that time. In autumn of 1966, 150 volunteers went through 6 months of training and came on the phones! On March 27, 1967 CONTACT Dallas, Texas became the first center in the Unites States. Through the help of the Methodist Church and the Council for Telephone Ministries, 31 communities expressed an interest in establishing a center in their community. Today CONTACT USA, has over 60 centers in 21 states, with 10,000 volunteers responding to over 1.2 million callers per year. As the only national network of telephone helpline centers in the United States, CONTACT USA is committed to a vision of reaching all who seek someone to listen, someone who cares. Volunteers for CONTACT of Ocean and Monmouth Counties have responded to the needs of individuals throughout our community since 1975.

CONTACT's training program is 12 weeks of classroom training, one night a week, followed by 6 weeks of apprenticeship. CONTACT training emphasizes listening skills while taking time out to identify the special needs of our callers. Group discussions address topics such as loneliness, depression, suicide, grief, marriage/family, substance abuse and domestic violence. We require our volunteers to work three, four hour shifts per month.

NEXT TRAINING SESSION BEGINS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2010!!

For more information please call 732-240-6104 or email contactofoceanco@aol.com