Toll Free Lifeline for Veterans and Families
THE NATIONAL TOLL-FREE CRISIS MANAGEMENT, INFORMATION & REFERRAL LIFELINE FOR VETERANS AND FAMILIES
1-888-777-4443
7 days/week, 9a.m.-9p.m. Pacific Time
 
PROBLEM ADDRESSED: VETERANS "COMING HOME" AND "FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS:"
A sampling from the last three years of support calls:
 
For veterans and their families, "Coming Home" is a process that can take months, years, or even a lifetime. It means accessing promised
benefits, like medical or psychological treatment, housing, education, or employment---and reconnecting with friends, families, neighbors, and co-workers. History has shown that frequently, just finding someone who can listen and really understand is the biggest challenge of all. Confusion about who to call for help and when, frustrating automated messages, cumbersome bureaucracy, long wait times at an already resource-strapped Veterans Administration (VA), perceived stigmas surrounding soldiers who seek assistance, conflicting information about benefits, and a dizzying maze of veterans related resources are significant barriers to care that often have the consequence of further isolating those most in need of help.
 
SOLUTION: THE LIVE VOICE OF A FELLOW VETERAN, AVAILABLE FROM ANYWHERE
 
Our service model is simple, and it saves lives. It's based on a time-tested understanding that best way to prevent a veteran or family member in need from falling through the cracks, or worse, is to provide a confidential, easily accessible way to find assistance---to get the veteran or family who needs help on the phone, keep them talking, counsel them through crisis, conference in appropriate local providers who can help, and follow up to ensure their needs are met. An initial call or e-mail to the NVF Lifeline is met with a live, immediate response--no automated messages. Our call center team, currently comprised of 8 fellow veterans and 3 civilians, listens, immediately assesses the emotional state of the caller, identifies additional service needs, and where appropriate, conferences in 3rd parties that can help. Depending on the situation, serving each Lifeline caller can take anywhere from a few minutes, to several hours, days, or up to several weeks and months of ongoing case management. Since 1987, the "Lifeline" has taken more than 275,000 calls, and remains the only service of its type in the country. From July of 2005 through March 2007, NVF's Lifeline fielded more than 15,000 calls from more than 4100 veterans and families in need around the country. While the helpline takes calls from veterans of all eras, roughly 1/3 of recent callers were veterans of Iraq and/or Afghanistan, and another 37% were Vietnam era Veterans. The NVF's proven outreach strategies, which are regularly evaluated to ensure our efforts are focused on tactics that generate results, include listings in the Yellow Pages, TV Public Service Announcements, earned electronic and print media (news programs, interviews and film documentaries), online support groups, internet related marketing developed in partnership with other providers, street outreach, and special events.
 
You can help us Spread the Word!
 
Refer a veteran or family who needs help to our call center—1-888-777-4443   Post our Helpline Number on your website, or in your newsletter.   Share our PSA and other materials with your friends and associates.   Read some example support calls from the last three years.