A new hotline for UT employees to call if they worry about themselves or others launched on Aug. 9. Taking a cue from the university’s distressed student hotline, 974-HELP, the new employee hotline, 946-CARE, was created so staff members could get help for themselves or others in the community.
“(It’s) just the idea that we thought we needed to do a better job to make sure our staff had adequate resources,” Mary Lucal, human resources employee relations counselor, said. Lucal said the hotline spun out of a need that staff saw on campus.
“We had a number of what I would call critical incidents over the last couple of years that really highlighted in our minds the need for us to make sure we take time out to care for each other,” Lucal said. “... There were people really struggling with personal and work issues and could have a personal crisis that we might be able to offer them resources to assist with.” She said the hotline is partially for those who don’t know where to go with their problems.
“A number of employees aren’t aware of what tools are available to assist them and don’t know where to turn,” Lucal said. “Part of the goal of this program is to say, ‘If you don’t know where to turn, call and we’ll do the best we can to assist you.’”
A number of events, like the shootings at Virginia Tech, as well as the current economic climate, have provided what Lucal calls flashpoints that create a context where the hotline is needed. And those that have co-workers who have a change in demeanor, depression, a fixation on weapons, anger, paranoia or social isolation may call the hotline as well.
Two human resource employees, Lucal and Michael Herbstritt, are the primary receivers. They are backed up by a trained group of additional human resource employees. Lucal stressed the importance of having trained workers staffing the hotline. Lucal has received positive feedback to the hotline, and now the process of marketing it, including presenting it to the Faculty Senate, begins.
Linda Francisco, part of the backup staff answering the hotline from human resources, said she has not worked on a hotline before, but she’s confident in her abilities.
“We’ve been well trained,” she said. “We have lots of good resources that we can use. So even though I’ve not worked on one before, I feel that I’ve been given the tools to help people.” Francisco said she loves the program. “Every time I see one of the cards or something up talking about the UT CARES program, I’m just filled with pride that UT cares about its employees the way we do,” she said.