Fall 2022
Care and Support
PROGRAM
12,765 CARE AND SUPPORT CALLS
2022 has been a year of incredible growth for the FirstLink Care and Support Program. By the time August came along, we had already matched last year’s number for total calls made, and as of September, we had made 12,765 Care and Support calls. Another statistic that has seen great improvement this year is the number of caring cards sent. In 2021, we sent an average of 91 caring cards per month. In 2022, we have sent an average of 179 caring cards per month! We want to stress that anybody can call FirstLink at 211 to sign themselves up to be contacted through the Care and Support Program. You are not required to go to the hospital or see a doctor before signing up. Anyone having mental health concerns, whether that be anxiety, depression, substance use, or suicidal ideation, is welcome and encouraged to receive care and support.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I needed this today. I feel like a weight is starting to be lifted off my shoulders. You gave me hope when I needed it.
179 OVER
CALLING CARDS
These calls make my day because it shows me that someone cares.
A letter from Executive Director
JENNIFER ILLICH After working out of a basement office for 18 years, FirstLink has moved above ground! With this relocation, we have doubled our office space and transitioned to fiber as opposed to copper phone lines. This upgrade to our technology will ensure clearer sound and more reliable connections, which is imperative to our service. Our team is also enjoying the windows, plants, and fresh air in our new space! I want to thank the many vendors that helped make this move happen, working tirelessly over the past six months to ensure that our phones could stay on the line without even a minute of interruption. I want to personally thank Mayor Mahoney and the City of Fargo for letting us use the Public Safety Building as our temporary home to answer calls and texts during the transition.
I also want to offer my gratitude to our Board of Directors, team members, and families, who helped plan, pack, move, and unpack all of our office items. This move would not have been successful without everyone’s help. However, a new space also comes with some new challenges. As we’ve unpacked, we’ve realized that we will need to purchase several office items to help with our day-today operations, including more office chairs and a screen for our training room. If you were considering making a donation to FirstLink, this would be a perfect time. Your support would be incredibly helpful as we get settled into our new home! Yours truly,
Jennifer Illich Jennifer Illich
Executive Director
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Outreach
UPDATE 2022 has been an exciting year for training and outreach at FirstLink! So far this year, we have provided over 50 community trainings and presentations, educating more than 5,000 participants on mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Nearly 2,000 students have received Suicide Education Outreach (SEO) this year. SEO is a training program developed for middle and high school students which debunks common myths and provides a safe space to discuss suicide. FirstLink has previously provided SEO to students in the Fargo-Moorhead community, but this year we have had several opportunities to reach more rural schools as well. FirstLink has attended 18 booth events this year, contributing over 60 hours to spreading awareness of the services we provide. We are always honored to be invited to these events and have attended
many remarkable opportunities this year, such as Mental Health Awareness Week at Fargo North High School, Pride in the Park, and the Fargo-Moorhead Out of the Darkness Walk. We are eager for the year to come and have many plans in store for 2023! FirstLink remains grateful to our generous community partners and donors, in addition to grant funding, which allow us to make connections in our community and offer free or discounted trainings to the public. If you would like to know about upcoming events or trainings provided by FirstLink, please visit www.myfirstlink.org/events or join our email list!
Sign up here o f r Events & Trainings
4342 15th Ave S #201A Fargo, ND 58103
REGISTER TODAY! (Scan here to register)
Read the full competition guidelines and register at
myfirstlink.org/2023-film-festival/ Presented by
+ Education and Media sponsor