Crossline

We're Here To Listen

6pm - Midnight - everday

email: crossline@covcitymission.org.uk

Lonely? Anxious? Depressed? Bereaved? Just Need Someone To Talk To? Would like Somebbody to Pary for You?

Crossline is a national Christian staffed helpline ofering a listening ear. It is staffed by trained volunteers from 5 major Christian Helplines in England - Crossline Coventry, Crossline Hull, Crossline Plymouth, Crossline Scunthorpe & District and Martha & Mary Crisis Line (Felixstowe).

We currently receive over 6000 calls per year of which over 4000 are answered. a significant proportion of these calls come from people with mental health issues.

All our listeners are trained on a 20 hour Telephone Listening Course accredited by the Association of Christian Counsellors (AT19/Tel/List). This course is available to be run to groups across the country on request. The core teaching will soon be available on dvd enabling the contact time with learners to be reduced when only small numbers of individuals wish to train or when insufficient total numbers are available in a given area to make a full contact course viable.

Topics covered in the 8 course modules: Listening Skills, Telephone Listening Skills 1 & 2, Telephone Boundaries, Crisis Listening, Call Handling 1, 2 & 3 including Loneliness, Mental Health and Relationships.

Crossline in Coventry is affiliated to the Association of Christian Counsellors, is a founder member of the Mental Health Helplines Partnership , a member of the Telephone Helplines Association and was instrumental in the formation of the Christian Helplines Association. (For contact details of CHA members follow the link to the CHA Web Site)

Crossline Coventry achieved the THA Quality Standard in 2005.

Brief History of Crossline in Coventry :Crossline in Coventry has been operating since January 1992 as a project of Coventry City Mission. In the early years it operated from 5pm - 2.30am. This was amended to 6pm - 2.30am in 1993 and subsequently to 6pm - Midnight from 2004. A paid co-ordinator was appointed to the project in 1996 and since then call volumes have risen steadily to the current level. An Accredited Training Course was developed and implemented in 2001. Following our 10th Anniversary in 2002 a desire to enable Christian Helplines to network and work closer with each other has been fostered. This resulted in the formation of the Christian Helplines Association in 2004.

Some Common Helps from Scripture

Anxiety: Phillipians 4: 6 -7; 1 Peter 5:7
Anger: Ephesians 4:26; Pslam 73
Bereaved: 1 Thessalonians 4: 13 -18
Desperate: Psalm 61: 1 -3
Distressed or Troubled: Pslam 9: 9 -10; Psalm 119: 61, 71, 75
Divorce: Mark 10: 1 -2
Drink Abuse: Romans 12: 1 -2; Ephesians 5: 18
Drug Abuse: Romans 12: 1 -2; 2 Peter 2:19
Fear: Psalm 23; Psalm 27; Romans 8: 31 - 39
Forgiveness: Psalm 51; Matthew 6: 12,14.15: 18:22
Loneliness: Deuteronomy 31:8; Psalm 23; Isaiah 41:10
Guidance: Proverbs 3: 5,6
Sickness: Psalm 103: 3; Matthew 4: 23
Sleepless: Matthew 11:28
Suicidal: Psalm 31; Pslam 55
Unemployed: Jeremiah 29:11; Phillipians 4: 11 -13
Psalm 34:18 "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit"