Dear Members of the Crisis Connections Community,
As we are all doing our best to navigate life right now, I’ve been thinking a lot about resiliency. I’ve been thinking about the importance of consistent self-care practice to keep my own resiliency intact and supporting others to do so, as well. The concept of being able to “bound back” is important enough that we include it in our updated mission statement. Earlier this year, over 40 of our staff, volunteers, and Board members collaborated to create this refreshed statement:
Crisis Connections’ mission is to foster resilience and wellbeing for all by connecting people to accessible and compassionate support.
So far this year, youth and adults in Washington state have reached out to our amazing staff and volunteers nearly 400,000 times on what is often the worst day of their lives. The brave people who seek help through our various programs are often grappling with multiple concerns – isolation and loneliness, anxiety, financial worries, relationship issues, trauma, overwhelm, addiction, and thoughts of suicide. And often, people reach out to us because they are concerned about someone in their life.
It is truly amazing to think that 24/7/365, there is a highly skilled and compassionate Crisis Connections person waiting to answer the phone, or respond to a text or chat, with the sole purpose of making a connection and fostering wellbeing. No matter what you're going through, we'll help you get through it.
In addition to refreshing our mission statement this year, we also updated our values. Through an inclusive and interactive process this winter, our staff, program volunteers, and Board aligned on values that best describe how we aspire to “show up” for our clients, community partners, funders, and each other. I’m proud to share that at Crisis Connections, we value:

• Accountability
• Collaboration
• Continuous Improvement
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging
• Respect

Research shows (and I firmly believe) that an excellent way to build resilience is to practice gratitude every day. As we work to live these values and use our mission statement to guide our way, I want to express my appreciation for helping to light up the darkness and provide hope, help and healing for so many. It is thanks to our government, private and philanthropic funders, our staff, volunteers and Board, and our community partners that we have been standing by for nearly 60 years to help lives on the line. And for that, I am truly grateful.
Sincerely,

Michelle McDaniel
CEO

Calls, text, and chats
Jan 1, 2023 through Oct 31, 2023

201,793 calls to our Crisis Lines in 9 counties
126,341 calls, texts, chats, and emails to King County 211
22,538 calls to King County 988
1,560 calls to King County OneCall
6,572 calls to WA Cares Connect
21,145 calls to WA Recovery Help Line:
146 participants with WA Survivors of Suicide
3,268 calls, texts, and chats WA Teen Link
11,929 calls to WA Warm Line