Community matters.
At the Crisis Centre of BC, care is built in everyday places. It shows up where people gather, learn, and look out for one another.
From our Executive Directors office window at the Centre, you can see a small patio. A donor helped build it. There is a BBQ and a table where staff and volunteers sit down together to share a meal between shifts. It is where people pause, reconnect, and remind one another why this work matters.
Just beyond that patio is our training room.
Week after week, people arrive there from across British Columbia. They come as coworkers, friends, supervisors, parents, and neighbours. They come because they want to know what to do if someone in their life begins to struggle. They come to learn how to talk directly about suicide and how to respond with care.
This is where suicide-safer communities begin.
When Awareness Turns Into Action
Not long ago, someone who had taken one of our suicide awareness trainings noticed that a person in their life was not doing well. They were quieter than usual, more withdrawn, less like themselves.
Because of the training, they felt able to ask a hard but caring question about suicide. That conversation opened the door to support.
Together, they called the Crisis Centre. On the other end of the phone was a real person who listened, stayed present, and helped carry what felt too heavy to hold alone.
That moment did not happen by chance.
It happened because someone had the confidence to speak up.
It happened because training had prepared them to act.
It happened because support was available when it was needed.
How This Work Comes Together
This is how our work connects.
- Training leads to awareness.
- Awareness leads to conversation.
- Conversation leads to connection.
- Connection can change the course of a life.
Every day and night, people across British Columbia reach out to the Crisis Centre through our phone and text services. Some are in immediate crisis. Some are overwhelmed by grief, isolation, or despair. All of them are met with dignity, respect, and compassion.
At the same time, people are learning how to notice warning signs earlier and how to respond in ways that reduce isolation and increase safety. These two parts of our work are inseparable. Crisis support and suicide prevention strengthen one another.
What Your Support Makes Possible
Donor support is woven through every part of this story.
- It helps ensure that when someone reaches out, a real person answers the phone or responds to a text.
- It supports training that equips everyday people to ask hard questions and stay present.
- It creates spaces where care is practiced, shared, and sustained.
Much of this work happens quietly. There is no spotlight. Just people showing up for one another, again and again.
Ways to Stay Connected
There are many ways to support this work, and each one matters.
Become a Monthly Donor: Monthly giving provides steady, reliable support that helps ensure services are available every day of the year. There is no minimum amount. You choose what works for you.
Make a One-Time Gift: A one-time donation supports crisis response, suicide prevention training, and community education across British Columbia.
Take a Suicide Prevention Training: Programs such as safeTALK, ASIST, and our online wellness modules help people recognize risk and respond with care in real-world situations.
Share Crisis Resources: One simple way to help is to make sure people know where to turn when they need support:
- 310-6789 for B.C. Mental Health and Crisis Response
- 9-8-8 for the Suicide Crisis Helpline by call or text
Be Part of the Network of Care
Every conversation matters.
Every connection matters.
Every act of care strengthens the community around us.
When you support the Crisis Centre of BC, you are helping build a province where people are not left alone in their hardest moments, and where more people know how to reach out and respond with compassion.
Community is how we take care of one another.
