Dial Help is located in Houghton and is the only crisis center in the Upper Peninsula. The agency was originally founded by volunteers concerned about issues in their community in 1971, and volunteers remain an important part of operations. Although there is funding for paid staff, volunteered time makes an impact on how far their budget can stretch.

“As the days get shorter and colder, people start looking for new ways to pass the time,” said Paige Setter-Hallwachs, Volunteer Coordinator. “The great thing about volunteering at Dial Help is that there are a lot of different things you can do. And since COVID-19 began, we now have online training by Zoom to make things safer for our volunteers as they learn the ropes.”

Opportunities for volunteering include:

– Crisis line and other support

– Advocacy

– Youth services

– Administration

– Grant writing

– Outreach

– Community events

– Substance abuse prevention

– Building cleaning & grounds maintenance

For more information email Paige at psetter-hallwachs@dialhelp.org, or apply online at www.dialhelp.org/volunteer. Funding is provided by Aspirus Keweenaw & Ontonagon, FDA, HRSA, Kenneth Ryan Clark Memorial Fund, DHHS, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, NorthCare Network, Portage Health Foundation, Superior Health Foundation, United Ways of Dickinson County & Marquette, and UP Health Systems. You can find their donors at www.DialHelp.org/donors.