I AM ONE Podcast by Postpartum Support International

I AM ONE PSI Resource: English Helpline with Lisa Zeitlin

• Episode 54

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On today’s episode, we’re spotlighting PSI’s English Helpline - an incredible, FREE resource available to anyone! The PSI Helpline is NOT a crisis hotline. It is a toll-free telephone number anyone can call or text to get basic information, support, and resources related to mental health during pregnancy, post-loss, and the postpartum periods. 

For this conversation, we’re bringing in an expert - the lovely Lisa Zeitlin, a licensed clinical social worker, Perinatal Mental Health-Certified specialist, and the English Helpline & Intervention Manager here at Postpartum Support International. She does a fantastic job of answering all of our burning questions! 

So, if you are in need of non-emergency support, know someone who is, or are just interested in learning more – sit back, relax, and enjoy this special episode spotlighting PSI's English Helpline! 

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Dani:

Welcome to the I Am One podcast. On today's episode, we're spotlighting PSI's English Helpline, an incredible free resource available to anyone. It's a toll-free number that anyone can call or text to get basic information, support, and resources related to mental health during pregnancy, post-loss, and the postpartum periods. For this conversation, we're bringing in an expert, the lovely Lisa Zeitlin, a licensed clinical social worker, perinatal mental health certified specialist, and the English helpline and intervention manager here at Postpartum Support International. Lisa does a fantastic job of answering all of our burning questions. So if you are interested in non-emergency support, know someone who is, or just interested in learning more, sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode spotlighting PSI's English helpline.

Emily:

Lisa, welcome to the studio. I'm so excited to do this because 17 years ago, I called what was then the warmline, and left a voicemail, and someone called me back. This isn't about me! This is about the warmline. So, Lisa, tell us a little bit about yourself and then let's dive into what it is that you do here.

Lisa:

Hello, everybody. My name is Lisa Zeitlin. My pronouns are she/her, and I currently live on the West Coast. I'm in Los Angeles at the moment. My role at Postpartum Support International is the English helpline and intervention manager. So the majority of my time is supporting our English helpline.

Emily:

Ooh, ooh, here's what else I want to know. What is your favorite controversial pizza topping?

Dani:

Oh, not on the list of questions. We're flying by the seat of our pants here.

Lisa:

Controversial... Um, I keep it pretty low-key on my pizza.

Emily:

But you live in LA.

Lisa:

Yes. We don't usually- so here's the thing. Like my partner and I, we don't eat pizza a lot. Like it's not part of our just like regular repertoire. Like it's probably once or twice a month, maybe. Is that a lot? Is that a little? I'm not sure.

Dani:

That's pretty normal.

Emily:

That's a normal amount of pizza consumption.

Lisa:

Is that normal? Okay. Okay. Yeah, maybe like once a month, maybe. I don't know. I gotta reevaluate that. But I'll usually do like a regular cheese pizza, but then have sauces to dip.

Emily:

Yes.

Lisa:

So I'm a dipper.

Dani:

Favorite sauce?

Lisa:

Um, sweet baby raised.

Dani:

Oh, BBQ.

Lisa:

I do a BBQ sauce. That's my go-to. It makes everything a barbecue pizza.

Dani:

Oh.

Emily:

Yes!

Lisa:

So, yeah, so that's what I do.

Emily:

Why have I never thought of this?

Lisa:

We're big sauce people. So yeah, we like to have different options of sauces on our plate.

Emily:

Yes.

Lisa:

You should see. It's like so many sauces.

Dani:

Just you open the refrigerator and you're like, where are the vegetables? There are none, just sauce.

Lisa:

It's sauces. It's sauce city, yeah. Yeah.

Dani:

Well, with that, I think we could probably wrap up the episode.

Emily:

I love it.

Lisa:

That's it!

Dani:

Great. Just kidding. Lisa, we're so happy to have you here.

Lisa:

I'm so happy to hang out with y'all.

Dani:

Okay. So that was a lovely intro. We want to know all about PSI's English helpline. And I'm emphasizing English because we have an English helpline and a Spanish helpline, right?

Lisa:

Correct. So if you call 800-944-4773, you could either press one for Spanish or you can press two for English. And if you were to press two for English, that's where you can leave a confidential voicemail and a volunteer will reach back out to you. The helpline is a warm line. So volunteers that are on do not answer calls live. So whenever a help seeker, whenever somebody wants to reach out to us for support, for resources, for referrals, they would call 800-944-4773. And if you'd like to be connected to the Spanish helpline, you would press one.

Dani:

Great.

Lisa:

But if you'd like to connect to the English helpline, you would press two, and then you would leave a confidential voicemail. And you can leave a voicemail 24 hours a day whenever you would like. Our hours of operation are 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, so-

Dani:

That's good to know.

Lisa:

Yeah. So you could leave a voicemail at any time. You could also text us at any time, but we will reach back out to you within those business hours or hours of operation when a volunteer comes into their shift. And then a volunteer will call back or respond to your text that's been waiting in the queue.

Dani:

I think that is so cool because Emily, a long time ago, like 17 years ago.

Emily:

Yep.

Dani:

Sorry, not to put a number on it, but oh, well I did. You called and left a message.

Emily:

I did.

Dani:

I would have definitely felt more comfortable sending a text message because, it just, to me just felt a little less scary. Maybe it's because I'm a millennial, I don't know.

Emily:

So am I... barely.

Dani:

Oh, okay. That's... anyway. But anyway, not about us.

Lisa:

I digress.

Dani:

But I think that is really cool, because everybody's kind of got a different comfort zone around how they communicate with folks. So people can call the number or they can text, awesome.

Lisa:

Yes, yes.

Dani:

Very cool.

Lisa:

So yeah, so folks can call, folks can text. And then there's also another option actually on the website, you go to postpartum.net, you can actually fill out an online form.

Dani:

Oh.

Lisa:

So there's actually three ways.

Emily:

And they all end up in your queue, right? Like, no matter what.

Lisa:

Exactly. Yeah, exactly. So however somebody wants to take that step.

Emily:

Yeah.

Lisa:

There is those three options. And whoever reaches back out to you will be a very compassionate, warm, non-judgmental person who is volunteering their time to connect back to other human beings.

Emily:

Yeah.

Dani:

Does it cost anything for a help seeker?

Lisa:

Nope.

Dani:

Wow.

Lisa:

It does not cost anything. Yeah. It's not for emergencies, it's for non-emergent emotional support for perinatal mental health, in particular.

Emily:

Right.

Lisa:

But does not cost anything. It's a completely free support service for folks that want to reach out.

Dani:

So-

Emily:

Okay, can I ask a question?

Dani:

Oh, sure.

Emily:

Perinatal, so that's like during pregnancy or postpartum. But I'm asking because I know the answer. Does this include post-loss, post-termination of a pregnancy? Or what if you're desperately trying to get pregnant? Have you ever had someone call for that too?

Lisa:

We have. Absolutely. Anyone who is connected with someone as well who is going through and navigating whatever it is they're navigating in that time. So in the perinatal period, like you had said, pregnant, postpartum, post-lost partners that are navigating alongside them, families.

Emily:

Like grandma, or grandpa, or like an older sister, or an aunt, or whoever could also.

Dani:

Or a friend.

Emily:

Yeah.

Dani:

Yeah.

Lisa:

Any and all.

Emily:

Like, I'm worried about my friend.

Lisa:

Any and all. Absolutely. Yep. Yep. We get that. We get a lot of folks that are recognizing that their loved one or someone that they're concerned about just isn't themselves.

Emily:

Yeah.

Lisa:

And they're noticing that and they're reaching out for guidance. They're reaching out for, you know, for education themselves. They're reaching out for how can I support my partner or what else can I do? Or how can I help my sister during this time? And um-

Dani:

Like, I know they need help, but maybe they don't have capacity to look for a therapist, or to-

Lisa:

Absolutely.

Dani:

find a support group, or something like that.

Lisa:

Or getting connected with a coordinator that's local in your area or specialized group. Absolutely. Yeah, we're here for any and all, and-

Emily:

Yeah.

Lisa:

anybody can reach out.

Emily:

That's so good.

Lisa:

I love it.

Dani:

So, what's the turnaround time? Did you say within 24 hours, or 48, or?

Lisa:

Yeah, that's a great question. Operationally, we never get outside that 24-hour window. So if someone were to reach out to our helpline right now, it's 11:35 a.m. Eastern Standard. Our volunteers have 24 hours to get back to them.

Dani:

Okay.

Lisa:

But it's our goal to not get close to that. So it's our goal to reach out as soon as we get it.

Dani:

Yeah.

Emily:

Do you guys keep data about that? Like, what's the average actual turnaround time?

Lisa:

That's a great question. We don't, but every day I am operating from the lens of checking the queues. And each day the time resets. It's 24 hours, and I'm always operating from that 24 hours.

Dani:

Yeah.

Lisa:

But when we add volunteers to our shifts and to our staff, we're getting closer and closer to not hitting that at all. So the volunteers that are on our helpline are incredible.

Emily:

Yeah.

Lisa:

Incredible human beings. And they are always doing quality- taking the texts or taking the calls that they have capacity for that day.

Emily:

Right.

Lisa:

And while also keeping- it's my job to keep the 24-hour window in mind. Like that's me, that's not on my volunteers, so...

Dani:

They get on their shift, they're looking at the queue, and they're like, okay, let's get information to folks? Okay.

Lisa:

They do what they can that day because a lot of our volunteers are survivors, are impacted, as well from perinatal mental health. So it is healing and part of their journey too.

Emily:

Totally.

Lisa:

We have an admin team where they can come to us for any support, anything that might come up, anything that they would just want to, like, debrief about or even just want to chat with us.

Dani:

Like, I haven't encountered this question before. Here's what I was thinking of saying, like, kind of bounce ideas off?

Lisa:

Yeah, bounce ideas, but then also like, hey, I'm connecting with a help seeker and I'm really hearing myself, or hearing my story in their story. And I don't really know what to do with that. And that's what-

Emily:

Or I'm not ready for that.

Lisa:

Yeah, that too. Like there's always an option of like, this is a little bit too much for me today. Can I get support? Or can I place this text back in the queue? And then that's when maybe myself or somebody else on our team, or even another volunteer maybe would take that.

Emily:

That's cool.

Lisa:

It's part of their healing journey, too, to give back and to be the voice or the validation they did not receive in their time of that process.

Dani:

That is so cool. We just like very naturally kind of went into the next set of questions we had, because we've touched on who calls in as a help seeker. And then we wanted to ask a bit more about the volunteers. So these are not necessarily- you don't have to be a therapist to volunteer on the helpline?

Lisa:

No.

Dani:

Who volunteers?

Lisa:

I first want to say those who volunteer are absolutely compassionate, caring, wonderful human beings. Like, I cannot say that enough. These folks are taking three hours of their week and putting that into supporting others. And so first and foremost, these are wonderfully compassionate people that really honestly truly care, and want to make sure that the person that they're supporting is getting what they need during that conversation. So they are trained, they're trained by PSI, they go through a process. And I like to think of it as the training or the onboarding really never stops, because I feel like you can never stop learning and growing, and it's a whole lot to be a support person for somebody else. And so the training never stops, the growing never stops, and the volunteers are supported by PSI staff, like we had mentioned.

Emily:

Yeah.

Lisa:

But the volunteers are folks with lived experience, whether it was them personally that went through it, whether it was a person that was supporting another person in their journey. And it's also professionals of many different kinds, so there are some mental health professionals that happen to be in this volunteer role. They're not in their mental health therapy capacity, they're wearing that volunteer peer support hat. There's also accountants, there's physical therapists that are on there. There are folks that are writers, there's just people. And I do also want to say who is not on the helpline is any AI bot or any type of artificial intelligent being. This is supported and the calls and the text are responded to by human beings.

Dani:

That was not a question that we had on our list, and I'm so glad that you mentioned that.

Emily:

Yes.

Lisa:

Yeah. It happens a lot because when you're reaching out, oftentimes in customer service or any type of capacity, there's the, I am a chat bot and my name is, and it's like a human name.

Emily:

Right.

Lisa:

So there's been many times, and I think our volunteers, they really bring their genuine human self. So I hope that help seekers and families realize that they are really connecting, but just wanting to set the record straight that no AI bots are supporting our help seekers.

Emily:

It's not gonna happen.

Dani:

Not gonna happen. Powered by people.

Lisa:

Yeah, powered by people.

Emily:

There's no algorithm that could give a computer the ability to hold space the way that a person can hold space.

Lisa:

Yeah.

Emily:

Like that's tough. Or like, let's take a deep breath together. Or, you know.

Lisa:

Yeah, that just relaxed me, I'm sorry. Just like...

Dani:

Uh, Emily almost put Lisa to sleep. There we go. Uh, our guest is napping now.

Lisa:

Exactly. I mean, but that's such a testament to what you were literally just saying. A lot of times, what I have noticed in conversation with others who are seeking support, it's they want that human to human connection that maybe they're just like not receiving during this time, or you know, they're feeling like really isolated or just feeling very overwhelmed, and they just want another human being to listen and be in the same space with them. Whether it's on a call or on a text.

Dani:

Right.

Emily:

Yes.

Dani:

This is such a cool resource. Lisa, what do you want help seekers to know about the helpline?

Lisa:

So many things. Um...

Dani:

Well, we don't have all day, Lisa! I'm just kidding.

Lisa:

Where do I begin? Where do I end? I don't know if I have really emphasized this enough, but you are connecting with another human being who truly, honestly, really, really, really cares. I really want to say that first and foremost. That help seekers who reach out, or those who are thinking about reaching out, or those that, you know, just like placing this as a resource in their back pocket if and whenever they just want to let help seekers know, families know, people know that they are not alone. That we exist and this helpline exists, and that all of these resources exist because we see you, and we want to listen and we want to share the resources and the referrals and supportive next steps and to give options. That there are options and that we're here in any capacity that we can in this role. And if there is something that you need beyond what we can provide, we can get you to that next step in that path. So I like to think of our service, and yeah, I don't want to speak for every PSI service, but at least on the helpline, I like to think of us as like a bridge– that you can stay on the bridge, you can reach out to the bridge, you can go back to the bridge– but we want to make sure that you're getting to the right next step in the path beyond the bridge. And the bridge is always here, right? Connecting you and you can always come back.

Emily:

Yes.

Lisa:

We're available and we want to be here to support. And there are resources and referrals that we can provide to you to get that long-term support that you so deserve. And so, what's the word? I think this is just a feeling that's coming up, right? Like there's just like really not words. It's like we truly, honestly want our help seekers to get the right support at the right time.

Emily:

Right.

Lisa:

And if you find us, we're going to connect with you. We're gonna hear you, we're gonna be here, we're gonna sit beside you, and we want you to get what you need.

Emily:

Right.

Dani:

When you need it.

Emily:

Which sometimes means people come back to the bridge. Like they get a connection. I mean, finding a good therapist is like dating, it takes time and effort.

Lisa:

Absolutely.

Emily:

And the people who are reaching out to the helpline have diminished capacity.

Dani:

Yeah.

Emily:

Right?

Dani:

It's hard to ask for help and it's okay to ask for help. And the cool thing is so many people, it sounds like volunteer on the helpline, either use the helpline or really needed the helpline and didn't use it when they needed it.

Lisa:

Yep.

Dani:

Know that so many of the people that you're gonna be connected with have maybe not experienced exactly the same thing as you, but they've been in a similar place to you where they needed somebody to reach their hand out and help them get the resources that they needed. So that is so cool.

Lisa:

And I also want to add a little bit more to that, kind of going back to the idea of who is the help seeker that's showing up on the other end of the line. And our help seekers are the experts of their own life, right? They're bringing themselves to another human being, showing up exactly where they are. And these are people that know their lives best. Sometimes they don't know what to do next, and that is okay.

Emily:

Right.

Lisa:

Sometimes help seekers show up and they're like, I know exactly what I need. I need a therapist, I need a doula, I need a lactation consultant, and that's okay too. Wherever somebody is, is like exactly where they are, and we're gonna meet them there. And we're going to provide the best support that we can in that moment and get them to that next step. You know, when the text is ended, when the phone call is done, want to make sure that whatever they needed, they can receive and they can call back. They can text back.

Dani:

Yeah. Yeah, because maybe you thought being connected to a therapist was like the one thing you needed, but maybe you might need something else. So you call back and, oh right. You know, somebody on the other end of the helpline says, Hey, have you thought about this support group?

Lisa:

Yeah.

Dani:

No? There's actually one happening tomorrow afternoon if you're available. I wonder if that might be of interest to you. And...

Lisa:

Exactly. Exactly.

Dani:

It's okay to try different things, right?

Lisa:

Yeah. And I think giving them options in a way that they're ready to receive it is also really important too. Sometimes folks, you know, we'll give a support group, we'll give coordinators, we'll kind of give everything, and they're just like, it's good to know this. I'm not ready yet, but I know that it exists. And thank you for letting me know, and thank you for giving me the space, I know what to do next.

Emily:

Does some of what your volunteers do include– they're talking to someone, they're like, I'm Emily, I'm on shift right now, so I'm available to chat with you? And then does it also include things like, I want to pass along this set of resources? Like I just, I'm gonna send you a couple of links to like, things on PSI's website, or whatever. Does it include stuff like that? But it's like, I'm gonna send you this, but like, let's keep talking. That's not part of the conversation, necessarily?

Lisa:

It's so help seeker by help seeker.

Dani:

Got it.

Lisa:

Right. Like we really do sit in the space with each help seeker, really listening, and we can't predict what they need, right? Like, and it's not the goal of like saying the perfect thing or like, what should I say in this text next? Perfection is not the goal.

Emily:

If it was, AI could do it, because there would be a formula.

Lisa:

Exactly. Exactly, exactly. And so I try to tell myself too, as I'm connecting with help seekers, like, perfection is not the goal. It's this space that is super sacred, and that's where the magic happens, and it's the listening, and it's really being in connection and compassionate, supportive care with somebody else. That is the goal.

Emily:

Yeah. The goal isn't to solve it for them.

Lisa:

We can't. We can't fix. We're not fixers. We're not able to come in, because again, the help seeker is the expert of their own life, and maybe what would work for me might not be, you know, helpful for you in that moment. And so again, I personally as a support person, a peer support person, like to give options. And then when someone is reaching out to us, starting off with those open-ended questions first, trying to give them the space of, well, you know, how did you find us? What made you reach out today? What's currently happening? Tell me more about that. Using that peer support lens, not my therapy lens, and taking it from a strengths-based perspective of: you have already found us. I'm so glad that you found us.

Emily:

Yes.

Lisa:

There's so many times where I'm like, I just want to give you, like, the biggest hug, and I just I don't, I don't want you to have to suffer anymore. You don't have to suffer with the right help, the right help for you, things can be better. You are not alone. We exist, and there's a whole organization and so many more, as well, that have niche and specializations. We exist because this is real. We know it's real. We hear you. This is not in your head, this is not your fault, you are not to blame. And there's so many people that are reaching out that are like, I don't know what's happening, but something's happening.

Dani:

Kudos to everybody who reaches out.

Emily:

Yeah.

Lisa:

Yeah.

Dani:

It's a hard thing to do. I mean, for some people.

Lisa:

Yeah. It's courageous.

Dani:

There's so many opportunities to compare ourselves to other people. And if we're not seeing people having a hard time-

Lisa:

Yeah.

Dani:

or hearing people don't have it all together, or aren't super happy every second with their circumstances, then it's like hard to say the inside thoughts on the outside.

Emily:

I was just thinking that. Like the amount of effort that it took to self-assess, identify that I feel off enough, I feel something that isn't right, and then to decide to do something about it. And then to go on the journey to find, Googling, or whatever, to get to the helpline, to make the call, or to text, or to fill out that form. The number of steps that it took to get there while you're not okay.

Lisa:

Yeah.

Emily:

Basically makes you a superhero.

Dani:

Yeah.

Lisa:

I wouldn't say basically, I would say it makes you a superhero.

Emily:

Yeah.

Dani:

Yeah.

Lisa:

I think so. And the volunteers that are taking calls and texts are also holding that space too, of like, we know what it takes and what it has taken you to get here. Yes. We're so glad you're here. We're so glad that you found us.

Dani:

Yeah. Okay. So listen. Now that we're all like teary. Basically, everybody's a superhero. So come join the club.

Emily:

Basically.

Dani:

Okay. What would you like providers to know about the helpline, Lisa?

Lisa:

First, I'd like the providers to know that we're a phone number that can be added to any paperwork, discharge paperwork, can be shared with them verbally, however they are giving out information of their resources and referrals.

Emily:

Your auto-reply email!

Dani:

If you have patients thinking about starting a family, if you know somebody's ovulating... I'm just kidding.

Lisa:

If you're seeing human beings, I think that our information should be everywhere in all places.

Emily:

If you have an auto-reply email that gets sent out, the number should be in it.

Lisa:

Yeah, absolutely.

Dani:

Call the helpline.

Lisa:

Call the helpline. So yeah, first and foremost, like, a lot of providers will call us to just be like, just wanted to see what the process felt like. I wanted to make sure that this is a resource that I can send my patients to. I want to just set the record straight that we are a resource that you can add.

Emily:

Kudos to those providers for doing extra homework.

Dani:

Yeah. Like I was gonna say, they're doing extra credit.

Lisa:

Yeah. It shouldn't be extra credit though. You know?

Emily:

I mean...

Lisa:

You know, just kind of sprinkling that in there.

Emily:

Let's make sure this number actually works?

Lisa:

Yeah.

Dani:

I like that they know about resources for the folks that they're supporting. I think that when I left the hospital, I had a photocopied piece of paper and it was like, you might feel sad.

Lisa:

Mm-hmm.

Dani:

Postpartum depression. And then it like listed a definition, and I was like, hmm. Well, hindsight's 2020. The difference it would make if somebody was like, if, you know, you're having a hard time and it just kind of feels like you're off, maybe just not feeling like yourself. It's common.

Lisa:

Yeah.

Dani:

And here are some resources you can call in and ask questions they'll help you get connected to, you know, some other resources, if that will help you.

Lisa:

That does remind me too, for providers, but also help seekers, like you do not need a diagnosis to reach out to get any help. Again, if you're just feeling like something is not right, if you're feeling like you haven't been able to connect with your doctor yet, and in the meantime, you want, you know, resources and maybe even some education on potentially what you know you're navigating, we're here for that too. So no diagnosis needed. For providers in particular, something that comes up for me is that our helpline isn't a resource for consultation, especially for prescribers in particular. Like, that is not our service. We have a fantastic consultation line, psychiatric consultation line at PSI.

Dani:

Can I shout out the I Am One podcast for a second?

Emily:

Oh my god.

Dani:

We have an episode all about this. So if you're a prescriber, check out episode...

Emily:

We'll link it in the show notes. Yeah, we'll link it in the show notes, with Dr. Nicole Taylor-

Lisa:

Yeah.

Dani:

all about PSI's psychiatric consultation program.

Lisa:

That's the spot to go to. If you're a provider who is looking for consultation on something that you're seeing in your practice, that's not what the helpline is. And we can provide providers, you know, links back to our PSI resources if they do reach out. An additional thing that I think is important to say is that if a provider does give our information out, letting your patients know or clients know that we're not 24 hours. And so if they want their patient, client to be connected with someone immediately, they would either call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 833-852-6262. They're call and text 24/7. So middle of the night, you need to connect with somebody, or it's during the day and you for whatever reason just want to text or call somebody. The hotline. An additional 24-hour service that we give out to any and all that can hear us, receive information, is 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. They are also 24/7 and they are available. Call, text. They have a chat on their website. Yeah. So-

Dani:

Very cool.

Lisa:

Wanting to say that. Those are numbers that we give out to all human beings. So

Dani:

Amazing. We will put links to all that.

Emily:

Yes.

Dani:

In the show notes.

Lisa:

Love that.

Dani:

So if help seekers are looking for a link or a phone number, same for providers. So, is there anything else that we didn't ask about that we want to mention in this special episode?

Lisa:

And I don't know if I want to say this on record or not, but, like, our volunteers show up every week, and I'm just like, thank you so much.

Dani:

Thanks for coming.

Lisa:

Seriously, like there's nothing forcing them to do this. Like, this is truly just based off of their heart and wanting to be in space for other people. It's like every week I'm just like, thank you so much for being here.

Dani:

Does your heart just explode?

Lisa:

I remember starting in this role and being like, they keep showing up each week. Like this is like incredible!

Dani:

Like, we're not even bringing cookies in. Like refreshments or anything. They're just...

Lisa:

That's how much our volunteers love this work. And that is also true of other PSI programs as well. Like I can only speak to the helpline, but we have, gosh, an entire, can I say, army of perinatal mental health advocates, and volunteers, and staff that are just doing the work every day and just being pulled.

Dani:

It is pretty incredible.

Lisa:

It really is.

Dani:

We know all too well that PS I couldn't provide the free resources to parents ,and providers, and, you know, all the people, if it weren't for our volunteers.

Lisa:

It's amazing. And yeah, so there is a minimum we do ask of folks to stay with us for at least a year. We have a lot of volunteers that have been here for many years.

Emily:

Yeah.

Lisa:

But we do ask that.

Emily:

Sure.

Dani:

Do you accept volunteer applications on a rolling basis? Is there like a window of time when the application is open and then it stops, or?

Lisa:

That's a really great question.

Dani:

Thank you, I'm here to bring all the great questions.

Lisa:

You're so good at this. So good at this.

Dani:

Lisa, go on.

Lisa:

Um, our interest form is always open to receive new volunteers, yeah.

Dani:

Okay.

Lisa:

Our operational needs kind of shift and flow, and we have a lot of human beings that are interested in volunteering with us. So it's really a big puzzle piece.

Dani:

Yeah. So there's an interest form for anybody interested in volunteering on the helpline. There's an interest form. We'll drop a link in the show notes. And as needed, you can reach out to folks who filled out the interest form to see if they're still available. Is that basically how it works? Okay.

Lisa:

There's so much room for those really compassionate, kind, wonderful human beings that want to give back in whatever capacity that looks like.

Emily:

I mean, I signed up to volunteer on the helpline. I did a couple of shifts, it made me so nervous. Not everyone who fills out the interest form is gonna get that role. Like, I found another role at PSI. I love it. I'm happy here. But it took a little bit of figuring out what played to my natural strength.

Lisa:

Completely. And I cannot do what y'all do. Like, I am telling you, like, your skills and your ability to run the climb program and to run this podcast. Like you're laughing, but it's- I don't want you to laugh because... No laughing. Because your skills, and what you bring, and just your personality. I feel like I cannot do this. I cannot do what you do. So-

Emily:

This is why we fangirl each other.

Lisa:

Yeah.

Emily:

Because we each have a different skill set, and we have found the right place, and so we get to, like, let it shine, which is cool.

Lisa:

You're doing great.

Dani:

Oh, you too. So are you, yeah. Okay. Well, with that, Emily, is there anything else that we want to mention? This very special episode about the helpline.

Emily:

Lisa, can you tell us the number again? And do they call and text the same number?

Lisa:

The postpartum support international helpline's phone number is 800-944-4773. You press one for Spanish, you press two for English. That's for a phone call to leave a voicemail.

Emily:

Okay.

Lisa:

The 800-944-4773 is where you would text the English helpline.

Emily:

Got it.

Dani:

Is there a Spanish text helpline? Is that a different number?

Lisa:

It is a different number. So to text in Spanish, it's 971-203-7773.

Dani:

And we are going to have an entire episode about um, well, episode zzz about resources that we have in Spanish, including the Spanish helpline. So if you're hearing this episode, hopefully sometime soon after you're listening to this, there will be an episode about the helpline on español. So hop on over, scroll through our episode list, and look for that one. But Lisa, thank you for sharing all about PSI's English helpline and what it's like for help seekers, what it's like for folks volunteering on the line.

Lisa:

Thanks for having me.

Dani:

We appreciate you.

Emily:

Thanks for finding us. Meaning PSI. You found PSI, and now you get to celebrate every time someone finds PSI. Like, how beautiful is that?

Lisa:

It's awesome.

Emily:

It's pretty cool.

Dani:

So, uh, for everybody out there listening, call us or text us.

Lisa:

Just come on over.

Dani:

We heart you. Let's be friends. Thanks for tuning in to the I Am One podcast. Check out today's show notes where we'll drop links to all the important things that we mentioned in this episode. Please consider sharing about I Am One on social media and following and rating our show wherever it is that you listen to podcasts. It only takes a minute of your time, and well, that'll help with our collective mission of bringing resources and local support to folks worldwide. From everyone here at PSI, thanks again for listening.

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Dani Giddens (she/her)

Host
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Emily Jankowski (she/her)

Co-host