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"When you are at the end of your line, they are at the end of theirs" is the slogan for 1800-LIFENET, a 24-hour-seven-day a week referral hotline for people in need of information about mental health services and for people in crisis. Ever since September 11th LifeNet has grown with more staff than ever before to respond to the City's increasing need for mental health services.

Employers have contacted LifeNet to arrange for crisis counseling and other services for their workers. A graphics design company reached out to LifeNet to arrange a stress management presentation for staff who have shown anxiety as a result of 9-11. LifeNet arranged for a mental health professional to prepare a presentation on trauma, stress management and effective coping strategies.

A small law firm phoned LifeNet to help employees who were suffering from anxiety and insomnia as a result of 9-11. The case was referred to a trauma specialist who taught company management the various techniques to employ to reduce anxiety levels. A large city agency employing over 300 people contacted LifeNet two days after 9-11 to arrange for group crisis assistance. LifeNet arranged for the deployment of a mental health counselor that same night and for mobile crisis teams to conduct group crisis intervention sessions over the next two days.

Providers also contact LifeNet. Orlando Pena was a Mental Health Discharge Planner at Rikers Island: "They gave us assistance in terms of discharge planning because we had to get our clients into appropriate [community services]. LifeNet provided good referrals for our clients." Mr. Pena is now a LifeNet referral specialist.

Many people called LifeNet, worried that they had lost a loved one in the World Trade Center (WTC). Some called because they knew they had lost someone. One man, a construction worker, called because he could not deal with all of the death and destruction he found at the site. LifeNet instructed people how to go about finding if a loved one perished, often referred people to counseling services in their area and sometimes suggested a mobile crisis team visit.

LifeNet's referral specialists are trained social workers who engage callers until they are able to find the right service for them. The caller describes what is going on and referral specialists try to get callers in contact with community providers who can do the actual counseling and suggest proper treatment modalities. Referral specialists try not to provide direct counseling although the assessment itself is therapeutic to a certain degree. If referral specialists make an assessment that there is imminent danger either to oneself or to someone else or if they hear a report that there is any imminent danger, they will call the police.

One woman called to say she needed counseling but was immobile and unable to leave her home. She was working at the WTC during the attack. While running from the building, she fell and dislocated a disc in her back. Her legs were swollen and her doctor ordered bed rest. LifeNet referred her to a mobile crisis team that visited her and provided in-home counseling.

Keith Chernin, Associate Director of LifeNet, including its Spanish and Chinese hotlines, said: "Our people are getting satisfaction for being able to apply their skills in a way that's helping New York in these historical times."