Saving Lives: Provident

At 2 o’clock in the morning, there are cars in the parking lot and the lights are on. On a bad night, the phones ring off the hook. Provident’s Life Crisis Service receives 40,000 calls for help each year, and on an average day, saves 40 people from taking their lives. When the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-SUICIDE) is overloaded, the calls roll over to Provident.

It acts as a backup for the nation’s most desperate. “We are small, but mighty,” says Kevin Drollinger, president and executive director, explaining that the nonprofit was founded in 1860 to respond to economic and emotional distress caused by both the Civil War and a cholera epidemic. Its local crisis hotline (647-HELP) is one of the country’s oldest, recently marking 50 years.

Jane Smith, director of the life crisis service division, says that besides 13 professional counselors, the call center is staffed by students and volunteers, all of whom receive 80 hours of training in active listening, risk assessing and safety planning. “We teach our volunteers to listen for the kinds of things that might be putting a person in danger—a mental health diagnosis, isolation, a past suicide attempt, feelings of being a burden or a recent loss,” she says. “It usually isn’t one thing, but a collection of challenges. It’s that last drop of water that can make the cup overflow.”

Smith adds that the crisis line usually is able to diffuse 90 percent of calls without having to activate emergency services. But still, phone bank staff and volunteers follow up with all callers to ascertain their safety and help them arrange ongoing support. This might involve referring a person to other professionals or helping them draw up a suicide safety plan—who to turn to in times of stress, what other services in the community to lean on, etc. Smith adds, however, that only 25 percent of callers are from actively suicidal people; most are from those who simply feel overwhelmed and need to talk. In any given year, Smith says 50 to 70 volunteers work the phones. In addition to suicide, Provident also addresses gambling addiction with its 1-888-BETSOFF line, which handles calls for the entire state.

Drollinger explains that Provident’s broader mission “to help individuals and families to a brighter future” means it also provides community support in the form of after-school programming and behavioral health counseling. Six-hundred children in 10 urban elementary schools receive a hot meal, tutoring and enrichment at the end of each school day; licensed clinical therapists offer counseling to youth and adults either free or at a greatly reduced rate at five locations around the region.

Provident celebrates 157 years with the Spirit of Provident Gala Feb. 11. Hosted by committee chairs Risa Zwerling and Mark Wrighton, the event will honor the philanthropic work of Carol and Ambassador George H. (Bert) Walker III, who Drollinger says make St. Louis a much richer place. “They are wonderful people, and we are honored to call them our friends,” he says.

Pictured: Life Crisis volunteers receive 40,000 calls each year.
Photo courtesy of Provident

The second annual Spirit of Provident Gala takes place Feb. 11, 2017, at Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis. Hosted by committee chairs Risa Zwerling and Mark Wrighton, the event will honor the work of Carol and Mabassador George H. (Bert) Walker III and celebrate Provident’s 158 years of service to the community. Pictured on the cover: George H. (Bert) Walker III and Carol Walker, with Provident director Kevin Drollinger. Fore more information and tickets, call 314.802.2581. 

Cover Design by Jon Fogel | Cover photo by Colin Miller of Strauss Peyton