ACTS hangs up crisis help line after 40 years

The ACTS Crisis Helpline will cease operation on June 30, 2023.

The Dumfries-based non-profit announced the closure of the 41-year-old telephone helpline on Thursday, March 30. During its time, staffers at the helpline took 500,000 calls from Prince William County residents and calls from across the U.S. as part of the National Suicide Hotline Network, said ACTS Interim CEO David Strand.

Last year, the helpline fielded more than 11,800 calls. With the launch of the National 988 services and the Virginia Regional Crisis Center, the ACTS crisis line duplicated services already offered by others, said Strand.

More in a press release:

Action in Community Through Service (ACTS) will be closing our Crisis Helpline effective June 30, 2023.

Closing this critical service was a difficult decision, especially as the ACTS Crisis Hotline has been helping people across the country since 1982. However, with the launch of the National 988 services and the Virginia Regional Crisis Center, the ACTS Crisis Helpline duplicates these other services. Although the Crisis Helpline will close, ACTS continues to offer information and referral services, our Sexual Assault Hotline, our Domestic Violence Hotline, the Lethality Assessment Protocol in conjunction with the Prince William County Police Department and provides Senior Link services to our home-bound older adults within Prince William County.

With this change, ACTS will only be able to provide Senior Link services to residents of Prince William County. For ACTS Senior Link clients who reside outside of PWC, ACTS will work closely with them to help find new resources to meet their needs.

Most important,we want to thank all the ACTS volunteers and staff members
who have contributed to the success of the ACTS Crisis Helpline over the last 41 years. Your hard work, dedication, and commitment to the ACTS Crisis Helpline saved hundreds of lives and helped build ACTS’s legacy.

Please reach out to us at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns about this decision.