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Phone Number Quick List: Alanon -- 295-8886 | Alcoholics Anonymous -- 296-8654
Family Caregiver Program -- 292-8445 | Teenline -- 292-8440 | Main Office -- 292-8445
Name
Position and term
Lourdes Torbisco
President
2005-2008
Paul Esquinaldo Treasurer
2007-2010
Dr. Fred Covan Director
2006-2009
Maggie Conkright Director
2007-2010
Coleen Fitzsimmons Secretary
2005-2008
Mark Entwistle Vice-President
2006-2009
Dr. Steve Ragusea Director
2006-2009
Jedde V. Regante Director
2006-2009

MISSION STATEMENT

HELPLINE, Inc. is Monroe County's only 24-hour confidential telephone crisis and information hotline, providing crisis intervention, education, information, referral and telephone reassurance services. HELPLINE was founded as a non-profit agency by the Zonta Club of Key West, a service organization of executive women, who saw a need for a crisis hotline in the community. The phones became operational on June 15, 1982, and in its first year of service there were 3,033 telephone contacts. The telephone reassurance program for the elderly and homebound residents was started in 1983.

HELPLINE's mission is to help residents and visitors work through crisis situations, and provide information referrals on most services offered in Monroe County. A new program call TEENLINE began in December 1997. A single call from a distraught teen that wanted to talk with someone locally was the catalyst for this service. Today, we remain one of just a few hotlines in the State of Florida dedicated to the health and well-being of our youth

.HELPLINE was awarded a grant from the Alliance for Aging in October 2001 to provide Family Caregiver Training and Support Group services to the residents of Monroe County. This funding from the Florida Department of Elder Affairs allows us to offer these services free of charge for all qualifying residents throughout the Florida Keys.

HELPLINE's services are free and confidential and are provided 24-hours, 7-days, 365-days a year. Phones are answered by volunteers who undergo intensive classroom education and on the job training. HELPLINE serves are the answering service for NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill), Interagency Council, Zonta, AA, Alanon, and referrals to the County Mental Health Programs, Domestic Abuse Shelters and The Florida Outreach Coalition.

HELPLINE is monitored by the Department of Children and Families, The Florida Attorney General's Office, and the Florida Department of Elder Affairs through the Alliance for Aging, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. In our Senior Telephone Reassurance Program, we depend on referrals from other social service organizations and current clients, as well as general community outreach to our elder population.

HELPLINE's services are made possible by the dedication and commitment of our volunteers, and the support of people like you. But nothing remains constant for long and as the needs of our diverse community change, so must we. One thing will always remain: HELPLINE's commitment to make life better for all people, and provide the best service possible to those in need of help.