This semester, Shapiro, Woznak and Bell have designed an online training program for volunteers. The volunteers virtually train others on topics such as empathy, mental illness, gender and sexuality, sexual assault and suicide prevention. While the students must complete significant training before answering the hotline, they are not mental health professionals and are trained to refer callers to mental health professionals as needed.

“A lot of times people don’t want to talk to someone they know about what they’re experiencing, especially because they might be worried about being judged,” Shapiro said. “The fact that we are confidential and anonymous and that our volunteers are trained in being non-judgmental definitely leads a lot of people to call us.

“Also, HELP Line is here for anyone’s needs; sometimes people call while they’re walking their dog to just talk about how their day has been, and sometimes people call because they’ve been having suicidal thoughts. It’s definitely rare to have someone in your life that you feel comfortable telling everything to, so I’m really glad that we can be that for people.”

Read the rest of this UVA Today story here.