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Photo by Bob Pennell A "Welcome Back" banner hangs over the TeenLine phone desk where volunteer Natalie, 15, takes calls from peers who need to talk. The teen hotline resumed operation last week after a hiatus of a year and a half. TeenLine back in service Grant enables reactivation after 1 1/2-year absence By JULIE SWENSEN A Medford teen hot line that was disconnected because of a lost grant is now up and running again. TeenLine resumed June 14 after an absence of about a year and a half. Volunteers who answer the phones say teens need an anonymous way to talk about problems without fear of rumors being spread. And, they say, many youths don't feel they can confide in their parents. "We're just here to fill a gap," said Roger W., 21, one of the program's mentors who also answers calls. A grant of about $5,000 from the Jackson County Commission on Children and Families helped re-activate TeenLine. In addition to that grant, the program shares funds with HelpLine, a 24-hour crisis hotline and information referral service. Beneath streamers and "welcome back" banners, 16 volunteers and four mentors rotate shifts fielding calls from an office on the east side of town. Teens and young adults who answer the phones undergo about 30 hours of training, but they also have help from nearby manuals and tip sheets tacked to bulletin boards. Earlier this week, volunteer Kari J., 23, talked to a caller who was having relationship problems involving jealousy and wanted counseling. Frequently, Kari gets calls from teens concerned about sexual identity. Most everyone tells her, "Thank you." The pressures of dating are a common concern among callers. Volunteer Natalie G., 15, took a call on a recent night from a girl who said her boyfriend was pressuring her to have sex and she didn't want to. Another girl called about a friend of hers who was dating a guy with a bad side, and she wondered how to tell her friend to stop seeing him. Natalie said she chose to volunteer because she thought she'd learn valuable skills. "It's a really good opportunity to help people out," she said. About TeenLine TeenLine is a volunteer service providing a listening ear to teenagers who have personal problems or concerns. Volunteers also provide information and refer callers to services available in the community. Teenage volunteers answer the phones at 779-TEEN between 6 and 10 p.m., seven days a week. Calls outside those times are routed to adult HelpLine volunteers, who answer calls to 779-HELP 24 hours a day. The volunteers are encouraged not to give out advice, but to act as sounding boards. They can refer teens to counselors. They can share information such as where to get tested for HIV and other diseases. They have ready access to information about topics including runaways, abuse, eating disorders, AIDS, homosexuality, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, rape and chemical dependency. While the TeenLine was on hiatus, some teens still were able to get assistance from HelpLine. HelpLine callers may need a place to stay; a volunteer can refer them to a shelter. Or a caller may need help in paying for utilities or getting food; referral numbers are tacked on the bulletin board for that as well. Jenny Rossow, volunteer coordinator for the two lines, said some teens worked on HelpLine while TeenLine was down. Teens who volunteer are from Central Point, Medford and Ashland, and some want to work in the human services field. Others had some tough times and because someone helped them, they wanted to give back. Still, despite the volunteers' help, more help is needed. About 25 people are needed to staff the line during the summer. Plans are to expand the line's hours from 6-10 p.m. to 5-11 p.m. starting next month. Organizers hope TeenLine can take calls even earlier in the day this fall, so "latchkey" kids can have someone to call after school, said Ron Elterman, program manager for the two lines. For now, only a few adolescents call TeenLine each night. Volunteers chat among themselves while they wait for the phone to ring. But they hope that once word gets out that TeenLine is in operation, the calls will pick up. "I'm hoping more people start calling," Natalie said. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA