Komal from California

Komal stepped into the role of Alex beginning in January of this year. Nurturing the belief that everyone "deserves a chance for their thoughts and feelings to be heard," Komal has done just that and more to this date by dedicating nearly 300 hours to talking with those struggling who reach out to IMAlive. In demonstrating deep understanding via active listening for their experience, feelings, and unique needs, she guides those seeking help through the process of identifying options for hope and support, empowering them to create a plan to get through their crisis. Supervisors note Komal is a winner of a responder when it comes to that balance of being able to stay true to a solid set of skills, her overall dependability, the seriousness with which she commits her attention to each chatter to give them her all, and her ability to stick to the fundamental structure of crisis response while working toward an actionable safe plan or steps available to the person in crisis. She has a way of getting directly to the heart of a person's struggle, both quickly creating a space where they feel understood in a way they maybe haven't been before, and also helping those who feel lost or confused clarify to themselves the reason or reasons for feeling the way they do as a step toward finding hopeful solutions. Komal navigates even tough situations with an element of calm, acting as an empathetic anchor in the storm of crisis where the person seeking support can find respite and hope as they gather courage and resources to keep fighting on. She never hesitates to ask a question of the supervisor or reach out to brainstorm ideas to foster the best outcome for a person in crisis. Komal, you are a genuine pleasure to have on the IMAlive team, and an asset to our chatters - congratulations on being named a Volunteer of the Month!

Veronica from Illinois

January of 2021 saw another all star Alex join the IMAlive team; volunteering an amazing 200 hours and counting so far this year, Veronica's easy going nature, ability to confidently and independently engage people in crisis with her empathy and crisis response skills to address any situation they face, and go get 'em attitude mean she's always alert, ready, and eager to help, and is often the first to pick up a chat on a shift and the last to leave in her perseverance toward our mission of suicide prevention and crisis intervention. Supervisors agree that whenever she is on the shift roster, they know the people in crisis with whom she interacts with that day will be in capable and caring hands. Veronica stands out as a solid and dependable volunteer; ever in-tune with a person's feelings and needs, she knows just what to say to keep them talking and where to go next in the conversation in order to explore every avenue of their situation and past and future resources, ultimately relaying that framework of perspective effectively to guide them toward a plan to get through their crisis whilst staying from suicide. Universally appreciated by supervisors as a delightfully affable volunteer in their interactions with her, Veronica's happiness and optimism even when faced with her own life challenges and stressors behind the scenes is contagious. Veronica, we thank you for all you've done and all you will do as Alex and beyond, and are happy to honor you as a Volunteer of the Month!