LOS ALAMITOS : Hot Line Expands Its Service, Seeks Funds

Judith Murphy, executive director of the Hotline of Southern California, a nonprofit group that provides crisis telephone service, doesn’t usually work the phones herself.

She’s a trained “listener,” but her hectic schedule often does not allow her time to take calls.

One day in August, however, she chanced upon a call that reminded her what the hot line is all about.

The call came from a frantic woman who said she had taken barbiturates but had changed her mind about killing herself.

She was calling from a telephone booth after trying to walk to a hospital.

Murphy asked if it was all right to call the police.

When the woman said yes, Murphy called, and the police’s timely arrival saved the woman’s life.

Several weeks later, a friend of the 26-year-old Long Beach woman called Murphy to say that the woman was OK and thanked her for her help.

“Suicide calls like that are rare,” Murphy said. “In a year, we get about three. We deal with more calls about jobs, relationships, even homework.”

The hot line was founded in 1974 by Los Alamitos resident Myldred Jones to provide people, mostly teen-agers, an outlet for talking about their problems, Murphy said.

Over the years, the services have expanded to include providing referrals for people who need housing, food and medical and psychological assistance.

The hot line serves Los Alamitos, Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Westminster, Cypress, Santa Ana and several other cities.

Recently, the Los Alamitos City Council recommended that the group receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Over the past 18 years, the hot line has served more 150,000 callers, Murphy said.

Hot-line volunteers get an average of 1,500 calls each month.

In the past two years, the calls have increased because of the bad economic times, she said.

“We get a variety of calls. Some are just looking for somebody to talk to,” Murphy said.

The hot-line numbers, (714) 761-4575, (714) 894-4242 and (310) 596-5548, are open daily from 8 a.m. to midnight.

Calls are kept confidential, and the identity of both caller and listener are protected, Murphy said.

Johnnie Strohmyer, the current president, said funding comes from donations by local service clubs, private individuals, the county, some corporations, particularly Panasonic, and the United Way.

How to keep the donations coming in the face of hard times is the biggest challenge to the organization, Strohmyer said.

In addition, volunteers are needed all the time.

The group holds two fund-raisers each year to augment funds. Michael Calvert, the incoming president, said the Monte Carlo Night in November raised $5,000, short of the group’s target.

“It gets challenging because of the economy. People say, ‘I’m not donating because I need the money myself,’ ” Calvert said.

However, officials expect the funding picture to improve and to keep getting high-quality volunteers.

The volunteers, mostly women, make a commitment to stay at least six months.

Before they are allowed to become “listeners,” they undergo an eight-week training program and are constantly monitored on the job.