Heroes of Crisis Hotline Technology

When a personal crisis strikes — whether it's an LGBTQ teen experiencing bullying, a war veteran who is suffering from PTSD, or a child who is the victim of abuse — access to the right help at the right time can make all the difference. Globally, the number of acute personal crises are growing. There has been a [31% increase in the overall suicide rate](https://www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers) since 2001, and a [doubling of drug overdose deaths](https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates) in the last decade. This disturbing trend underscores that it’s more important than ever for people to have access to effective crisis intervention services. While the weight of these crises can feel overwhelming, the people leading nonprofits that provide help to people in crisis give us tremendous hope. We wanted to take some time to highlight some of our heroes in crisis response and prevention - nonprofit leaders who are using technology to ensure that people can get the help they need right when they need it.

Each one of these people has shown how technology can fundamentally transform crisis services by enabling people in crisis to quickly access the help they need, through communication channels that are accessible and from people who understand their needs. At Twilio.org, we’re proud to support organizations serving those in crisis, and want to do even more by building technology to meet the specific needs of crisis hotlines. If you are interested in exploring ways that technology can help the hotline ecosystem, **I encourage you to join Twilio.org’s [Crisis Hotline Innovation Collective](https://ahoy.twilio.com/crisis-hotline-collective)**. The Collective convenes technologists, program directors, and hotline advocates who are dedicated to using technology to expand capacity, reduce wait times, and enable staff to achieve their missions.