Volunteering for a suicide prevention hotline/chatline?

[biochemnerd123]

I meant to start volunteering in the spring, but because of COVID the volunteer program at the hospital I wanted to join is suspended.
However, for a while now I have also been thinking about volunteering for the TrevorProject, which is a suicide prevention service aimed at supporting LGBTQ+ youth. I would probably join them to volunteer for their chatline.

This is a cause that I would love to be more involved with and that is important to me. I hate to be asking this question, but how would med schools look upon this? I guess it would be an experience with virtual patient("patient"?) interaction although maybe not very clinical.

Does anyone have experience working with this group and know what they're like? Are there opportunities to also get involved with more of the organizational side/management as well? I have an interest in working with non-profits so I feel like this could also be a good opportunity to network or gain some perspective there.

Maybe also worth mentioning, I am a tentative pre-MD/PhD applicant here.

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[yokiguz]

I don't think it's clinical. But that being said, I volunteer at a crisis hotline and it had been the most fulfilling and one of the best learning experiences I've ever had.

 

[srstudent]

I don't think it's clinical. But that being said, I volunteer at a crisis hotline and it had been the most fulfilling and one of the best learning experiences I've ever had.

+1 on the fulfilling part

 

[Snaketail]

Hey! I actually do volunteering with Trevor and can attest that it is a really challenging and rewarding experience. As a queer person it's super nice to give back to the community and "pay it forward" to young people with whom I can actively relate. I'm not really sure about management/admin stuff, as that has never really been my goal, but I understand that there may be some limited opportunities to move into a supervisor-like position with more experience. I also think it is a great way to practice fulfilling a support role and develop skills useful to your future role as a physician / physician-scientist.

As a current MD/PhD applicant myself, I categorized it as non-clinical volunteering. I've seen some folks are iffy on whether hotlines could be considered clinical, but I personally don't think of it that way and had other hospital volunteering that I felt was more than sufficient. Can't really say how med schools view it as I'm a current applicant, but the experience definitely gave me interesting things to mention in my applications!

Also FYI: it took them ~9 months to get back to me after I first applied because they weren't actively recruiting. They have been pushing to train more folks since COVID started, so if you're interested I would definitely apply sooner rather than later!

 

[ratking]

Hey! I actually do volunteering with Trevor and can attest that it is a really challenging and rewarding experience. As a queer person it's super nice to give back to the community and "pay it forward" to young people with whom I can actively relate. I'm not really sure about management/admin stuff, as that has never really been my goal, but I understand that there may be some limited opportunities to move into a supervisor-like position with more experience. I also think it is a great way to practice fulfilling a support role and develop skills useful to your future role as a physician / physician-scientist.

As a current MD/PhD applicant myself, I categorized it as non-clinical volunteering. I've seen some folks are iffy on whether hotlines could be considered clinical, but I personally don't think of it that way and had other hospital volunteering that I felt was more than sufficient. Can't really say how med schools view it as I'm a current applicant, but the experience definitely gave me interesting things to mention in my applications!

Also FYI: it took them ~9 months to get back to me after I first applied because they weren't actively recruiting. They have been pushing to train more folks since COVID started, so if you're interested I would definitely apply sooner rather than later!

Did you follow up after submitting your application? I also applied about two weeks ago and haven't heard back yet, but I didn't want to annoy them if that's just how long the process takes (although hopefully not nine months!).

 

[biochemnerd123]

Hey! I actually do volunteering with Trevor and can attest that it is a really challenging and rewarding experience. As a queer person it's super nice to give back to the community and "pay it forward" to young people with whom I can actively relate. I'm not really sure about management/admin stuff, as that has never really been my goal, but I understand that there may be some limited opportunities to move into a supervisor-like position with more experience. I also think it is a great way to practice fulfilling a support role and develop skills useful to your future role as a physician / physician-scientist.

As a current MD/PhD applicant myself, I categorized it as non-clinical volunteering. I've seen some folks are iffy on whether hotlines could be considered clinical, but I personally don't think of it that way and had other hospital volunteering that I felt was more than sufficient. Can't really say how med schools view it as I'm a current applicant, but the experience definitely gave me interesting things to mention in my applications!

Also FYI: it took them ~9 months to get back to me after I first applied because they weren't actively recruiting. They have been pushing to train more folks since COVID started, so if you're interested I would definitely apply sooner rather than later!

That's all so awesome to hear! I'm going to complete my application right away. Are you volunteering through their (formerly) in-person phone services, or their text/chat line? I'm curious to know if those opportunities to move up are more for people who are physically at the call center.

I will probably volunteer regardless, but do you think that volunteering remotely could one day lead to a letter of recommendation/reference?

 

[Snaketail]

Did you follow up after submitting your application? I also applied about two weeks ago and haven't heard back yet, but I didn't want to annoy them if that's just how long the process takes (although hopefully not nine months!).

I didn't follow up after submitting, mostly because I got caught up in other things and kind of forgot about it. From what I understand, they only do the training classes occasionally (training is fairly long before you can actually start working with youth), which seems to be the main bottleneck. I had honestly thought they passed over my application but seems like they just can really take their time. Doesn't hurt to ask them how long you should expect to wait - the recruitment folks are pretty nice!

That's all so awesome to hear! I'm going to complete my application right away. Are you volunteering through their (formerly) in-person phone services, or their text/chat line? I'm curious to know if those opportunities to move up are more for people who are physically at the call center.

I will probably volunteer regardless, but do you think that volunteering remotely could one day lead to a letter of recommendation/reference?

It's actually a Trevor Policy to not disclose with which specific service we volunteer, so I can't tell you that (It's weird I know but important to retain anonymity and the efficacy of the service)! In terms of the movement, I would honestly just reach out and ask them, as the recruitment folks would know a lot better than me haha. As for a LOR, you might be able to get a decent one depending on how long you work, though I often don't work with the same staff each week so it's hard to say exactly how good such a letter would be.

 

[ratking]

Thanks for the tips @Snaketail!

 

[biochemnerd123]

Seconded, thank you @Snaketail !