Crisis Support for Enthusiastic Sobriety Abuse Survivors & Current Members
The Pathway Program Survivor
I told Staff that I wanted to kill myself and they told me I was bringing it up for attention. They asked if I could commit to not harming myself for 24 hours and I said I didn’t think I could. They told me to just say I could and if I changed my mind later that’s fine.
When I got home, I talked to my roommate who was a graduate and she got infuriated. She called them and drove me to the psych ward which is what I needed.
I had a meeting my counselor the next day and he gaslit me by saying he only thought I was gonna self harm not commit suicide. Either way they should have responded differently. That was the last time I ever went to the shop.
Warmlines vs. Hotlines
A warm line is an alternative to a crisis line that is run by “peers,” generally those who have had their own experiences of trauma that they are willing to speak of and acknowledge. Unlike a crisis line, a warm line operator is unlikely to call the police or have someone locked up if they talk about suicidal or self-harming thoughts or behaviors. Most warm line operators have been through extreme challenges themselves and are there primarily to listen. A warm line has the purpose of reducing hospitalization and forced treatment, being a cost effective and non-intrusive, voluntary intervention.
A crisis hotline provides free, immediate support to people in crisis via a phone number, chat room, or SMS-based service. Crisis hotlines are typically staffed by trained volunteers who provide emotional and educational support.
The content of hotline conversations is confidential. Safety, however, is the number one priority. Volunteers may refer callers to a local organization or licensed social worker for further assistance and, in cases when a caller is in immediate danger, may dispatch local services.
Warmline Directory
Unlike a hotline for those in immediate crisis, warmlines provide early intervention with emotional support that can prevent a crisis – and a more costly 911 call or ER visit. The lines are typically free, confidential peer-support services staffed by volunteers or paid employees who have experienced mental health conditions themselves.
Visit warmline.org for more information and download the 24 Hour Warmline Directory to keep on hand.
National Crisis Hotlines & Warmlines
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Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a leader in suicide prevention and mental health crisis care. Since its inception, the Lifeline has engaged in a variety of initiatives to improve crisis services and advance suicide prevention for all, including innovative public messaging, best practices in mental health, and groundbreaking partnerships.
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Crisis Textline
Text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the United States, anytime. Crisis Text Line is here for any crisis. A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from our secure online platform. The volunteer Crisis Counselor will help you move from a hot moment to a cool moment.
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Trevor Lifeline 1-866-488-7386
If you are thinking about harming yourself — get immediate support. Connect to a crisis counselor 24/7, 365 days a year, from anywhere in the U.S. It is 100% confidential, and 100% free. Our trained counselors understand the challenges LGBTQ young people face. All of your conversations are confidential, and you can share as much or as little as you’d like.
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Trans Lifeline (877) 565-8860
Trans Lifeline is a grassroots hotline and microgrants 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering direct emotional and financial support to trans people in crisis – for the trans community, by the trans community. We envision a world where trans people have the connection, economic security, and care everyone needs and deserves – free of prisons and police.
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Call Blackline 1 (800) 604-5841
The mission of BlackLine is to provide hope and promote social justice for individuals, families and communities through immediate crisis counseling. BlackLine is a unique combination of professional staff, trained volunteers and collaborative partnerships to create innovative responses to pressing social needs and issues. Through an unapologetic Black, LGBTQ and Black Femme lens.
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RAINN 800.656.HOPE (4673)
RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.
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NDVH 1.800.799.SAFE (7233)
24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, the National Domestic Violence Hotline provides essential tools and support to help survivors of domestic violence so they can live their lives free of abuse. Contacts to The Hotline can expect highly-trained, expert advocates to offer free, confidential, and compassionate support, crisis intervention information, education, and referral services in over 200 languages.
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Don't Call The Police - 911 Alternatives
dontcallthepolice.com is an online directory of local resources available as alternatives to calling the police or 911. We founded dontcallthepolice.com to provide easy access to alternatives to calling the police when faced with a situation that requires de-escalation and/or intervention, not violence.
Crisis Safety Plans: 101
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A suicide safety plan is a written set of instructions that you create for yourself as a contingency plan should you begin to experience thoughts about harming yourself. It contains a series of gradually escalating steps that you follow, proceeding from one step to the next, until you are safe.
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Work with someone you trust—such as your best friend, a close family member, or a doctor or therapist—to develop your suicide safety plan. It is best to get these people involved since you will most likely need to call on them if you decide to execute your plan.
Try to create the plan while you are feeling well and can think clearly, rather than waiting until you are actively suicidal. Put your suicide safety plan in writing and keep it in a place where you can easily find it should the need arise.
Your suicide safety plan should include several steps and be written in the order presented below. An example of each step is provided to help you think about what that step means for you.
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The first step in creating your suicide safety plan is to think about the types of situations, images, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that might precede or accompany suicidal urges for you.
List these warning signs so that you can refer back to them when deciding whether to activate your plan. It's also helpful to familiarize yourself with some of the risk factors for suicide in order to recognize these warning signs if present.
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Create a list of activities that can be soothing to you when you're upset. If you can't think of any examples off-hand, you may want to try some mind-body methods that have helped others, such as breathing exercises or body scan meditation. Or take a look at different ways to reduce stress to see if any methods might be helpful for you.
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Create a list of your reasons for living. When you are feeling suicidal, it is very easy to get caught up in the pain you are feeling and forget the positives in your life. Your list will help you refocus your attention on the reasons to keep going until your suicidal thoughts and feelings pass.
Some people with or without depression find that keeping a gratitude journal is helpful. If you find yourself feeling suicidal, looking at what you have written may help you focus on the positives in your life until the feelings pass.
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Keep a list of contacts you can talk to if you are unable to distract yourself with self-help measures. List names, phone numbers, or other contact information, and be sure to have back-ups in case your first or second choices are unavailable.
Your list of trusted contacts may include your significant other, friends, relatives, or your religious leader.
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Create a list of all professional resources available to you, along with their phone numbers, email addresses, and other pertinent contact information. This is also a good place to keep a number for a crisis hotline such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
Members of your professional health care team can include your psychiatrist and your therapist as well as a crisis hotline.
If you haven't yet seen a mental health professional, take a moment to learn about the different types of therapists who care for people with depression, anxiety or PTSD, and make an appointment today.
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Plan what steps you can take to make yourself safe. This may involve removing or securing any items that you are likely to use to hurt yourself, or going to another location until the urges have passed. It may also involve getting another person involved to help you.
If you feel like hurting yourself, you might plan to go to a public place like a mall, restaurant, or library to distract yourself. Or, if you are feeling suicidal, you might ask someone to keep your gun at their house.
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If all other steps have failed to keep you feeling safe, go to your nearest hospital emergency room and ask for assistance.
Keep the name, address, and directions to the hospital listed in your plan for easy access or save it in your GPS.
If you do not feel that you can get to the hospital safely on your own, call 911 or the emergency contact number appropriate for where you live and ask for transport to the hospital.
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If you begin to experience any of the warning signs of suicide listed in your suicide safety plan, proceed through the steps you have previously outlined for yourself, one by one, until you are feeling safe again.
An exception would be if you are feeling out of control and are strongly thinking of suicide. In that case, it is best to call either a trusted friend who can be with you immediately or 911.
How to Rescue someone from an Overdose
Always call 911 if someone is unresponsive and administer calm, even rescue breaths to get oxygen into their body until an ambulance arrives.
Use NARCAN if available, and stay with the person until help arrives because NARCAN has the potential to wear off and the overdose can start again.
For more information on harm reduction - visit our Enthusiastic Sobriety Substance Abuse Support Page.
This animation provides information on how to recognize (signs and symptoms) and respond (to include checking for responsiveness, calling 911, administering naloxone, providing rescue breathing or CPR, and providing aftercare) to a suspected opioid overdose emergency.
What to say when you call 911 about an Overdose
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Tell the dispatcher exactly where you and the overdosing person are. Give them as much information as possible so that they can find you (i.e. 3rd floor, or in the bathroom).
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Avoid using words like drugs or overdose—stick to what you see: “Not breathing, turning blue, unconscious, non-responsive, etc.” This makes the call a priority to paramedics and usually will not involve police.
(See the section on Good Samaritan Laws)
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When the paramedics arrive, tell them what you know about what drugs the person may have been using and if you gave them NARCAN or if NARCAN did not work—as much information as possible. If the paramedics suspect opioids, they will give the victim an injection or intranasal dose of naloxone.
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Keep loud noise in background to a minimum—if it sounds chaotic, they will surely dispatch police to secure the scene and protect the paramedics.
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Drug Overdose: Good Samaritan State Laws
Overdose Good Samaritan laws are policies that provide legal protections for individuals who call for emergency assistance (such as 911) in the event of a drug overdose.
This may include protection from arrest and/or prosecution for crimes related to drug possession, drug paraphernalia possession, and other crimes.
These laws are designed to encourage people to summon emergency assistance if they experience or witness a drug overdose.
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GOOD SAMARITAN LAW
Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 13-3423
A person who acts in good faith and calls for help for an alcohol or drug related overdose, whether for themselves or others, may not be charged or prosecuted for possession or use of a controlled substance or drug paraphernalia, if evidence for the offense was found as a result of calling for help.
The person who overdosed has the same protections.
Calling for help may be considered as mitigation in any other drug prosecution.
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GOOD SAMARITAN LAW
Ark. Code. Ann. § 20-13-1701 et. seq.
A person who acts in good faith and calls for help for a drug overdose, whether for themselves or others, may not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for possession of a controlled substance, if evidence for the offense was found as a result of calling for help.
A person who acts in good faith and calls for help for a drug overdose, whether for themselves or others, may not be penalized for a violation of restraining or protective order, pretrial release, probation, or parole, if evidence for the violation was found as a result of calling for help. These protections apply for violations based on possession of a controlled substance only.
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GOOD SAMARITAN LAW
Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 18-1-711
A person who calls for help in good faith for a drug or alcohol overdose may not be arrested or prosecuted for several offenses including possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, if the following conditions are met:
The person remains at the scene until help arrives
The person identifies themselves to and cooperates with the responding party
The offense is part of the same event as the one involving the overdose
The person who overdosed has the same protections, so long as the person who calls for help meets all the above conditions.
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GOOD SAMARITAN LAW
A person who acts in good faith and calls for help for an alcohol or drug related overdose, whether for themselves or others, may not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for possession of a controlled substance or possession of drug paraphernalia, if evidence for the offense was found as a result of calling for help.
A person who acts in good faith and calls for help for an alcohol or drug related overdose, whether for themselves or others, may not be penalized for a violation of pretrial release, probation, or parole, if evidence for the violation was obtained as a result of calling for help.
Calling for help or providing help can be used as mitigation in sentencing for other crimes. Fla. Stat. § 921.0026(2)(n).
A person who experiences, or has a good faith belief that he or she is experiencing, an alcohol-related or a drug-related overdose and is in need of medical assistance may not be arrested, charged, prosecuted, or penalized for a violation of s. 893.147(1) or s. 893.13(6), excluding paragraph (c), if the evidence for such offense was obtained as a result of the person’s seeking medical assistance.
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GOOD SAMARITAN LAW
A person who calls for help for themselves or another person in need of medical assistance will not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for possession of certain amounts of drugs and possession of paraphernalia if the evidence for the violation is based on information collected as a result of calling for help.
Any information collected as a result of calling for help cannot be a violation of a person’s pretrial release, probation, or parole for a drug violation or a violation of a protective or restraining order.
The person who overdosed also qualifies for this immunity.
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GOOD SAMARITAN LAW
Kansas does not have drug overdose Good Samaritan law protections.
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GOOD SAMARITAN LAW
A person who calls for help in good faith for themselves or another person experiencing a drug overdose may not be arrested, charged, prosecuted, or convicted for possession of a controlled substance or imitation controlled substance, possession or use of drug paraphernalia, or public nuisance, so long as the evidence for the charges is discovered as a result of calling for help.
Any person protected from charges under this law cannot be penalized for violation of a protective order or for violation of a condition of probation or parole. They are also not subject to civil forfeiture.
The person who overdosed has the same protections.
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GOOD SAMARITAN LAW
N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 90-96.2
A person who, acting in good faith calls for help for another person experiencing a drug-related overdose and
Reasonably believes they are the first person to call for help
Provides their own name to emergency personnel
Did not call for help during the execution of a warrant or other lawful search is immune from prosecution for certain controlled substances crimes or possession or use of drug paraphernalia, so long as the evidence for the charge was discovered because the person called for help.
The person who calls for help cannot be subject to arrest or revocation of pretrial release, probation, parole, or post-release; however, the person’s probation officer may still drug test the person on pretrial release, probation, or parole.
These protections and restrictions also apply to the person who overdosed.
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GOOD SAMARITAN LAW
Texas does not have a drug overdose Good Samaritan law.
How to use Naloxone
This video illustrates step-by-step instructions on how to utilize four different forms of Naloxone.
Visit nextdistro.org for online and mail-based access to Naloxone and other harm reduction supplies.
Pharmacists can sell naloxone without a prescription. We suggest calling ahead to ask if your local pharmacy has it in stock and how much it may cost depending on your insurance coverage. You can also check GoodRX for coupons.
Naloxone is a life-saving drug that can reverse an opioid overdose. Once an overdose has been identified, administer one of these four common forms of naloxone. end-opioid-epidemic.org
Share your story.
Share your story to help other survivors feel heard, seen and understood. We aim to expose the consistent patterns of abuses in Enthusiastic Sobriety Programs and prevent potential families from years of suffering from undue influence and abuse under the guise of drug and alcohol treatment. Enthusiastic Sobriety Survivor stories can be submitted anonymously by former group members, staff and families.