For more than 30 years, Ozaukee County has been home to COPE Services, a free 24-hour hotline available to everyone for emotional support and crisis intervention. The COPE hotline is 262-377-COPE (2673) and the Teen/Home-Alone hotline is 262-377-7786. The hotline is open to anyone within the U.S. and this nonprofit is specifically seeking to extend its outreach into Milwaukee and surrounding communities.
“We are totally unique in this area because we are there to listen and talk with people, whereas other crisis lines do not have the time and resources to talk and give that supportive listening,” says COPE Outreach Coordinator Kristin Kobylinski. “We are there to listen to what is on our callers’ minds and of course we are equipped to handle the crisis call as well.”
COPE calls are anonymous and confidential, and callers may call back several times a day. Kobylinski says they have more than 50 volunteers on a rotating shift, all of whom are highly trained. Last year, COPE Services received about 23,000 phone calls.
“We are always looking for great listeners,” Kobylinski says. “If you are looking for meaningful work that enables you to connect with human beings that need you, this is a great volunteer opportunity. There are many callers out there who feel unloved, lonely, anxious and depressed. There are also many people with extra compassion and love to give. We are looking for those kinds of people to volunteer.”
For more information about volunteering, contact the volunteer manager at 262-377-1477 ext. 103. The next training session will be held in February. COPE also invites readers to its 16th annual fundraiser, the “Take-A-Break Luncheon” featuring the President/CEO of Empathia, Inc., Philip Chard on Feb. 10, 2015, at the Ozaukee Country Club. To learn more about COPE Services and its upcoming event, contact Kobylinski at 262-377-1477 ext. 102 or visit copeservices.org.
