On Tuesday, September 15, 2020 7:38 PM, Dave Cortright wrote to Crisis Counselor Policy Review Committee <ccprc@crisistextline.org>:
I respectfully disagree with both your framing of the issues here and your conclusion. I very much want to be a part of the Crisis Text Line community, but not the one it has historically been—rooted in systemic racism and a toxic workplace. I want to be a part of a newer, better Crisis Text Line that—at its foundation, and throughout all levels of the organizational—embodies the ideals your training teaches us to use with the texters.
You must surely be aware that many volunteers and employees have been disappointed with your anemic response to the organizational crisis you are undergoing. There is a whole grassroots movement that has been watching with increasing dismay and disappointment with each feint at something of substance only to have it changed or canceled or “rescheduled” and ultimately concluding in nothing.
I respectfully ask: who in particular was harassed or harmed by my tweets? Because as you might notice upon further review of the tweets you quoted below, I called out no single individual in them. I was merely offering facts (and my particular view of those facts) about the organization as a whole—not any one person in particular—in order to help shine a light on what I see is a lack of accountability and action within the organization.
The sad thing here is I could be such an asset and ally for the cause. I challenge you to go back and look at my conversations I’ve had with texters. I've received above average texter feels (somewhere in the 14% range IIRC) and I am quite likely also above average when it comes to whatever metrics you use to measure counselor effectiveness.
While you are at it, go check out all of my posts on Mighty Networks, as well as in the group chat on the platform. I was stepping up voluntarily—and quite effectively from the responses I received—as a mentor, providing tips and insights to help make the whole network around me better. I posted about the peak-end rule and use that to craft such a powerful close that I got consistent, positive feedback from texters and counselors alike:
“Thank you so much for reaching out today and sharing your story with me. I am honored you trusted me to open up about your struggles. It shows your strength to confront these things head on in order to overcome them. It’s inspiring! Remember, if you’re ever in crisis again, we will always be here for you. You never have to go through these things alone. Never. Take care.”
That you would just make a unilateral decision like this to terminate my affiliation with your organization without even attempting to have a conversation with me first speaks volumes for the kind of organization you are. I have never seen such extreme irony in my life. You—an organization that ostensibly meets people “where they are”—refusing to even meet one of its own where they are.
You claim I did not use internal mechanisms for providing feedback; yet I did. If you again check Mighty Networks AND the Google form AND messages sent to my coach AND supervisors, I provided plenty of feedback. I reported privacy issues only to have them ignored. So what is my recourse when you aren't responding?
Let me conclude by saying how grateful I am that you gave me this opportunity to become a trained crisis counselor and to both learn and grow in that role while helping to play a small yet meaningful part in dealing with the growing mental health crisis in our country. Despite this involuntary—and in my mind unjust—termination, I am still proud that I fulfilled my 200 hour commitment and that I can take this training and experience onward and upward to even greater heights.
Best regards,
·Dave
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