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Crisis hotline calls rise during periods of national turmoil

St. Louis's Safe Connections has seen calls to their 24-hour crisis hotline rise 11-15% in the past four years. They want more volunteers to cover the call volume.

ST. LOUIS — The phone at Safe Connections rings a quick, upbeat jingle Tuesday morning, but the callers to this specific line are usually in the middle of a much darker situation.

"Safe Connections Crisis Hotline," Jess Cowl recited into the phone.

Cowl's on the receiving end of the center's 24-hour crisis hotline for people trying to find a way out of physical or sexual abuse.

Over the past four years, the agency's call volume has risen by an average 11-15%, Cowl said, adding the average call duration is longer too.

"Whereas calls used to last maybe 5-15 minutes, now they're lasting 10-30 minutes," Cowl said.

Data from the National Crisis Text Line mirrors that upward trend.

Cowl says specific events -- and national headlines -- can send someone to their service, citing the #metoo movement as one direct cause.

"We do have folks disclose that they're calling because of a certain event, sometimes we'll just see an increase in calls around a certain event happening," Cowl said.

Eighty percent of the hotlines calls come from survivors or someone connected to a survivor.

They aim to have an active volunteer roster of about 12-20 people, but right now, they're at the lower end of that range. If you would like to help, contact Safe Connections.

If you need to reach the crisis hotline, call 314-531-2003.

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