Journal 3: Leadership in 7C’s

At Crisis Text Line, the community that all of us are involved in make sure to achieve the same goals of helping others that we’re texting. Consciousness of self is represented in our environment since we must stay open and aware of our emotions as well as those of others. By keeping track of one’s  thoughts, this helps us volunteers better understand the individuals that we’re working with, which in return helps us figure out the best way to help them. Congruence can be seen in our community through the work of our supervisors. During each volunteer shift, we have a group of people watching over us to assist in any way needed. Their actions are congruent with their passion for wanting to help others dealing with mental health problems. Next, commitment is highlighted through the work that every one of us volunteers do with every text message that we send to people in crisis. We know that our work is appreciated and needed, which is why we have all agreed to commit at least 200 hours with this organization to make sure that their resources used to train us aren’t going to waste.

Collaboration is another aspect that’s seen in the community shared between a volunteer and their supervisor. Our volunteers report any issues with the platform that we’re using to a supervisor, and supervisors are there to assist us with any questions that we have during a shift. This communication also enhances the common purpose that we all share by messaging each other and checking up to make sure that everything is working accordingly. Controversy with civility can be addressed in this organization since we’re all aware that we may not share the same opinions as those we’re texting. Even though this is common, we still undoubtedly work to talk to those going through a crisis regardless of whether or not we agree with their background or ideologies. Citizenship is portrayed through our work since we’ve all made the choice to come together and join Crisis Text Line as volunteers, even though we come from various situations.

Our community in this organization has allowed us volunteers to acquire many takeaways one of them being a sense of family. We’re part of a group of people who always make sure to check up on each other after each shift to make sure our own mental health is being taken care of. Another point that this organization makes is prioritizing communication. There’s many ways to reach a crisis text counselor online through their messaging chat system, or even through texting them from your own phone number. Crisis Text Line originated from the concern of helping others at all times, which is why our services are offered 24/7. People who text us can reach out any anytime which is why it’s important for our platform to always have people online ready to talk. I’m grateful this community has taught me lots about handling mental health problems, and how to care for others in times of crisis.