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Why True Crisis Support Is About Listening, Not Fixing: Lessons from a Crisis Call Center · Hart & Hustle Podcast

• Efrain: Welcome back to another episode here on the Heart and Hustle Podcast. We have Miss Aaron Sims in the building. Miss Aaron, where are you located? Erin Sims, LPC-S: I'm located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Efrain: Love it. Isn't it cool that we could just speak virtually like this? Like, wow, what what a time we live in. Erin Sims, LPC-S: I know. Yes. Yes. Yeah. And I yeah, I was thinking about that today when I was just thinking about our conversation because my job is Louisiana, but our service is a national service. So yeah, it's great to be able to talk about something that ⁓ affects all of us no matter where we are. Efrain: And the organization be a via Link, let us know a little bit about what's your role with Via Link as well as what is Via Link. So those that may be listening or watching. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah, so I'm a licensed professional counselor ⁓ by trade. So ⁓ you know, used to work as a therapist, but VLink is a crisis call center. So we answer 988 in Louisiana. There's two crisis call centers. We are ⁓ the one for South Louisiana and we take about 60% of the state's call volume and We answer 988, which is the National Suicide Prevention Line. So you can call 988 no matter where you're at in the country. ⁓ but every state runs the program a little bit differently. And so yeah, you get connected with someone to talk about your mental health needs, ⁓ help decide maybe next steps for you if you're ⁓ wanting to get help for yourself or a loved one. But we also answer a lot of other lines ⁓ in Louisiana and ⁓ the All of them get you back to a caring, real person who wants to talk about whatever's going on. Efrain: And this is no easy task, no easy job, Erin. This is not something that you say, I'm going to go to school to do this. How do you get there? Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yes. Yeah. ⁓ I feel like I you know, everyone that I talk in advocacy work, ⁓ comes to it kind of from a unique path, I think. I ⁓ you know, have a background, like I said, in mental health counseling. That's what I thought I would be doing. I thought I would be talking to clients right now, ⁓ having therapy sessions, you know, like seeing people all day long and ⁓ When I started doing that, I just realized that naturally my personality kind of thought to the macro. My mind went to the macro. It was hard for me to sit with a person who was experiencing a lot of similar problems to all the people that I was working with. ⁓ And it was, you know, the issues were systemic, but they were affecting individual people in such a deep way. And so that's what led me to advocacy. That's what led me to V-Link. And I think, ⁓ yeah, the even in the call center, there's no specific career that leads you into suicide prevention. There's no degree for that. ⁓ there's I think a lot of life experiences. I have personal reasons to work in suicide prevention as well as professional. And I think that that's the case for a lot of people that work in the crisis call line. You know, ⁓ sometimes it's people who are retired. who have had a lot of lived experience, or sometimes it's people who then themselves have struggled with their mental health. and so I think people come to it from a lot of different ways. It's a unique job, both advocacy and working on the line. And I think it makes UV Link a really unique place to work that I think ⁓ people like. I think that's a you know it's an interesting mix of people who have kind of found their self themselves in a career that isn't atypical. Efrain: ⁓ I had a couple of questions, but we'll start with therapy. So therapy is something that growing up we didn't talk about. I actually just found out that my mom, I'm thirty six years old, that my mom had therapy when or was going through therapy when we were younger. And it's something that we didn't even talk about at home, right? And sh and so I was kinda telling her that last time I was like five years ago and I feel like as I'm growing in my business, like I got I need to go again. You know what I mean? ⁓ type ish. But I think some people just have this bad stigma on it for whatever their mate been an experience that they didn't like. ⁓ I always say it's like dating. You gotta find the right one. ⁓ some people just never had that conversation. They think that people are in their business or whatever. Like what do you say to that, Aaron? You just having that that knowledge about it. As you mentioned, you were going to be in this space and and and life took you somewhere else, but you didn't forget those, I can imagine, those ⁓ reasons why. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah. Yeah. Totally. Yeah. ⁓ I think when I think about therapy, there's two things that are important. ⁓ and one of them is more important and that's the relationship. Like if you don't feel that connection, like I can tell this person the hard stuff, the stuff that I don't maybe even want to say out loud. Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: For myself to have to hear, then it's not gonna be helpful. And you kind of can think of it as wasting your time. I think that's a good way to think of it. Like if I don't feel that connection, it's not a bad thing towards them. Like we're wasting both of our time. Your therapist wants to help you with that issue. They ⁓ and you want to get help, right? So it's a good way to kind of relieve the pressure. Like they want you to find a good fit too. And if they don't, then they're not the right therapist for you anyway. ⁓ and then I think to their approach, right? Like, how do they approach therapy? The types of models that Efrain: Yeah, yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Like the types of like theories that they might use, we say. ⁓ cognitive behavioral therapy is a really great therapy to teach people about the connections between their thoughts, their feelings, and then their behaviors. But some people who have had really extensive trauma in their life, that's not gonna be enough, right? They're gonna need something ⁓ that goes a little bit to a deeper level. ⁓ so yeah, you need to think about what have I experienced as a person? Like, what are the root issues or what do I think I want out of therapy? And then finding. A therapist that not only provides that type of therapy, that type of care that you're looking for, but that they give you like that vibe. Like, this is a good feeling. ⁓ I feel I feel like I can be open with that person. So I think that's the two things that are important. And again, just give yourself permission to, like you said, ⁓ or I think you might have said breaking up with the therapist. Like it kind of can feel like that. It's like a th, you know, like your healthcare though. If you went and saw a doctor who made you feel really bad about yourself, or maybe said, like, we're gonna skip the blood work this year, who can Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Like, think about it that way. You wouldn't want care that doesn't meet your standards. Therapy is the same way. ⁓ it can be hard, but also like working through the hardness of having to do that is is good, I think, right? Like, I have broken up with therapists, people have broken up with me. ⁓ and I think as a therapist, I tell myself, like, how could I possibly help every client or be the right person for every client? Like, we we know that, right? Like, we know that we are we are not. Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: the right therapist for every client. And also we're not the magic ingredient. You are. ⁓ and so if your therapist doesn't doesn't believe that, then like I said, it's not a good fit to start with because it's really it's about them, but it's less about them and it's more about you. That would be my advice. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Aaron, I th I I love that you said that. My therapist, I met her I don't even know her name, but I knew she was so good. Like that's all I remember is that I remember going in there and being a faucet and she just sat there and listened. I think and a lot of times people may think that they're like telling you how to think or what to think and it wasn't that experience for me. It was that she sat there and listened, she was a good listener, but she really just asked me questions that I had a lot of the answers to, but no one asked me in that way. Erin Sims, LPC-S: ⁓ huh. Totally. Efrain: So when she's asking me in certain ways, I'm like, ⁓ wow. You know, and at the it was just she was really good. Like I just thought she was such a vibe, as you mentioned, the vibe. ⁓ because before that, I had a different experience and I just felt like, ⁓ it wasn't for me. And I really got there because my wife, like, shout out to all the women that just make you go do these things, right? Like I just went to the doctor because my wife said, You need to go do this and now I'm in my head, so I I went to go do it. But ⁓ she was the reason I went to therapy because as we became new parents, ⁓ Erin Sims, LPC-S: Hold on. Efrain: And me adoption and sexual abuse, all these things start to really come back. Realizing that wait a minute, I gotta have this conversation with someone. And she just made me feel, man, so comfortable. And I told her some things that I probably didn't tell other people, you know. So, ⁓ no, I I love that you were in that space and I love the space that you were in as well. I mean, I think they play really hand in hand, to be quite frank, right? Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yes. Mm-hmm. Totally. Totally. Mm-hmm. They do. Totally. Advocacy is like counseling, like I said, on the macro, right? Like you're taking the problems that a lot of us have and saying, Okay, what what can we do about that? Or who needs to be at the table? ⁓ because I think a lot of times when these things are being problem solved, it's not the right people at the table or the right stories. And I think that it was hard to know all of the stories, That I would see play out in a school. I worked at a school in New Orleans ⁓ as a counselor ⁓ prior to working in advocacy. And then I supervised other mental health professionals in schools so in across Louisiana. So even got into some more rural areas of Louisiana where I realized like Efrain: Mm-hmm. Erin Sims, LPC-S: again, we are different but same, right? Like everyone wants the same things for their kids at the end of the day and kids all want the same things. ⁓ they might want them differently or it might be different things, but everyone wants to succeed and and be able to achieve their dreams and not have them crushed before their life even gets started. And so I think like that was ⁓ something that really drove me into advocacy is that like this is still helping people. I love to just Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: hear people I love to be with people in those like harder times and in those moments. Like you I went to counseling and have had you know, loss early on in my life that led me to counseling. And you know, I just think it's a privilege to get to be with people one on one. And it's also a privilege to get to be ⁓ on a bigger scale, like advocacy and talking more about Efrain: Mm-hmm. Erin Sims, LPC-S: what people in Louisiana need. ⁓ but I do think it's really connected. And like you said, everyone that comes into advocacy has some type of story. ⁓ the only people that don't are the I like to say lobbyists, and that's because their parents are usually lobbyists. So sorry lobbyists, I'll throw some sh at you That's the only kind I'll say. Efrain: You know, w we we talk about this work, we talk about ⁓ just the leadership aspect, being an advocate. It becomes hard. It becomes hard work. While we like I enjoy and I always say like I selfishly get to listen learn every time I listen to conversations and stories like yours, Erin. ⁓ but sometime it becomes draining and we have to ask ourselves the why. I could imagine that you have a story that reminds you of the why when those thoughts start to, you know, pop in your head. What is the story that really allows you to keep moving when the times do get tough? Erin Sims, LPC-S: Mm-hmm. Yeah, ⁓ I do have a story that is one of my stories that I think about a lot. so I had been in a really frustrating meeting. ⁓ I have a lot of stories about school. Like I see a lot of kids, but this story really sticks out to me. So this was ⁓ maybe like four years ago. I got out of a very frustrating meeting in City Hall in New Orleans where it felt like we had been saying the same things over and over again and not really having Some concerns listened to about mental health support in schools and attendance. We have a horrible truancy problem in New Orleans. and so ⁓ we were saying something has to be done, right? Like we need more, and it just felt like no one was listening. So I left the meeting and I was so frustrated. And I stepped out onto the street. This is downtown New Orleans, and I'm with one of our board members, and I'm talking to her about how frustrated I am and Efrain: Mm-hmm. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Like ⁓ it was a moment where I was like, I feel done. Like I feel like I could get in my car and be done with this. Like ⁓ I don't know what else to do. And a man on a bicycle stopped and said, Miss Aaron. And I said, like totally caught me off guard. And it was a kid that I hadn't seen since sixth grade. And he was a man. He was a grown man. And he said, he said, I knew it was you because of your eyes. And he said, What are you doing here? And I told him what I was doing. Efrain: Wow. Erin Sims, LPC-S: And ⁓ and we talked and we caught up and he told me he was riding back from his job. He worked on Canal Street in a restaurant. And ⁓ I mean when I s like it gives me chills right now, it makes me tear up all over right now. and so I just and he I I told him what I was doing and he said you don't work in a school anymore, and I said, No, this is what I do. And he said, Well, I didn't know that was a job, but of course you would be the one doing it. And so I just think about him. I think about like you don't Efrain: Ha ha ha. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Like working in a school, you plant seeds that you never get to see the tree grow, right? Like you don't get to see what happens to kids. And the kids that you do kind of, I feel like, know what happens. It's normally bad, right? Like it's not, it's the kids you see in the newspaper, unfortunately, or it's the kids that you see you get a text from an old colleague about. so I just remember that day I left and I text all my teacher friends that I knew loved this kid because he was definitely a memorable kid. And I was like, he's alive. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Erin Sims, LPC-S: And he has a job, and I saw him in front of City Hall today. ⁓ and this is where he's living, and he's doing okay. and so I think that's the why, right? Like, the why is that like people do remember you, like ⁓ the relationships you have matter. and even in a job that felt so frustrating, ⁓ he didn't see that. He saw me as helpful. And so I think like remember who you show up for, like, you know, in a school that was something I had to remind myself constantly. It's like I'm here for the kids. Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: try to show up for them. ⁓ and I think like I ⁓ I made myself proud in that moment because I think we can beat ourselves up. I'm a person that will think about all the things that went wrong. ⁓ so just to have that moment and to see a kid after that long, ⁓ after such a horrible meeting was something I'll not ever forget. Efrain: Yeah. I love it. I love it. And thank you for sharing that. I I laugh a little because every time I see a teacher, right, I'm thirty six years old now. This is almost twenty years ago, and they're just like, ⁓ I remember you and I'm like, Stop lying. But Aaron, you're you're mentioning that no for real. Erin Sims, LPC-S: No, yeah, no, you don't forget them. ⁓ you don't. I think too, like, you know, a school is so interesting. Like that's why I tell parents, like, we're where y'all drop all your kids off every day. So when you drop your kids off and you're like, whoo, like we took every kid on from every parent that did that. So like you remember them. You might not always like remember their name, but you could remember their the things they would do, their personality, their quirks, like because that's what keeps you ⁓ going. And no one works in a school that doesn't love kids like. Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: That they don't last if they don't. ⁓ so yeah. Efrain: Yeah. Yeah. Well I'll tell you a funny story. ⁓ I had a teacher. He didn't last. ⁓ but I had a teacher. And now as I'm older, I feel so bad. I feel like even when I tell the story, you're gonna be like, no damn way. So I was definitely the asshole, okay? ⁓ and life was life in. You know, like school was a place that I felt free and I could be myself. So unfortunately he ha he caught that. ⁓ we were going to class, me and my best friend, and this guy was 23 years old. And he was I didn't realize that that was really young. You know, I'm 16, 17 years old. And we would sit here and battle this guy and he was like, I'm not gonna argue with you guys. I'm like, We're not gonna argue with you, Mr. Chambers, right? So he only lasted two years. It is 10, 15 years I see this guy later at a restaurant, and he looks at me, I look at him, I said, Holy crap, Mr. Chamber, I haven't seen this guy in years. He says, Ephraim. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Right. Efrain: You're the reason I quit teaching. I felt so bad, Erin. But it wasn't for him. If he couldn't deal with me, Erin, it was not for him. But as I sat here and one, I apologized to him, but I told him where I was at in my life and the things that I was going through in those moments. He was so appreciative of who I've become, you know. ⁓ you know, and there's so many teachers that I even go back to and will say sorry to and just thank them for ⁓ just g Erin Sims, LPC-S: Totally, yeah. Efrain: Even though I was always in trouble, they knew that there was something going on. And they would always tell me, Efraine, you're not this kid. Like, what are you doing? You know, and I always catch myself in trouble. But it was people that see me for who I was. I go back to the old secretary that she's been at that school for 36 years. As a secretary, though. And when she's ⁓ leaving, I was, you know, with her and she's retiring, she said, Efraine, thank God you want to go do what it is that you love. Because I not that I don't love this, but I feel like I'm leaving here and I'm leaving with nothing. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Mm-hmm. Efrain: And I said, that's not true. I am one of those I'm one of those kids that almost 20 years ago, she told me when my counselor told me that I was, I might as well go to ⁓ get a nine to five job because school wasn't for me. That secretary told me, Ephraim, do never never allow someone to tell you who you are and where you're going. Right? And and this was so many years ago. Like she didn't realize that she was fertilizing the future. She didn't know I was going to come back. And I tell her all the time, you don't know the kids that you've touched, they haven't come back. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah. Totally. Efrain: But you truly either planted seeds or water seeds that you may never see come to life. So, Aaron, it's it's you. It's the work that you do every single day of showing up, because it's not about you, but you know there's people that have experienced the things that you've experienced, either firsthand, secondhand, whatever that may look like. And ⁓ we don't know what we don't know. You know, and and and as that meant ⁓ guy that you mentioned, he didn't know that. But that doesn't mean that. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Totally. Yeah. Efrain: After that he's like, Wait a minute, there's something like that? Maybe I should go, you know, explore that, right? Aaron, you just don't know what you don't know. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah, totally. Exactly. Yeah. And I think too, you know, thinking about school, someone told me something early on that helped me is that kids will never be excited about school if they are not excited about their life. Like you can't expect them to come in this building and, you know, be really engaged in what's going on if life is not going well. And so I think that You know, it helps you know, ⁓ be curious is what I would say about people that work with kids. Like if a kid is giving you hard, like you said, if you're the asshole kid, I love those kids because I feel like the worse a kid was in a class, the more intrigued I was because they were always smart, they were always hilarious, they always did really good one on one with adults. It was the classroom setting that tended to kind of ⁓ I would feel like spiral. Efrain: It was my platform, it was like my stage. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah, totally. It's your stage. Yeah, exactly. And like you said, it's your safe space. And it's this you know, the person in the front office that makes it the safe space. It's the janitors, the people in the lunchroom. Like those people are so critical to me because they do notice every kid. They're not less in planning, so they can be just more human with kids. And I think ⁓ Like you said, they're not always the people who maybe get the kids the come back or visit. But kids don't often do that. That's not, you know, that isn't an expectation I had. ⁓ but to be able to see a kid and feel like they like you said, ⁓ that you were just a positive person and a nice at the end of the day, like you just need to show up and be nice and witness. That's why ⁓ you know, I think I said that, like be their witness. Like, yeah, that really sucks. Like your friend was mean. Or yeah, that the test was hard and you made a bad grade. Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: you're not doing anything other than giving back to them that their experience is real and it matters. That's what if you think about what helps you calm down, what helps your brain regulate, what helps you get back on the ground, it usually is just a person listening, validating, and you know, kind of just sitting with you, letting you know you're not alone. ⁓ there isn't much to do on a bad on in bad moments other than that. so I think that ⁓ yeah, I love Efrain: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: that about being in a school. ⁓ that's so funny about your tea I mean, I've you know, one of the things about being a school counselor is talk to a lot of teachers. You know, when a kid's not in your office, it's a teacher that's in your office crying. and I think a lot of people come to teaching with just this idea of what it will be. ⁓ and like you said, you have your own stuff and nothing if you a pa being a parent brings out your own stuff, but kids in general bring out your own stuff. so I think working in a school can can bring out the things in us that we've not Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: that we've not worked on and it can make us realize how sensitive our nervous system is. ⁓ when maybe we didn't know know that about ourselves ahead of time. Yeah. I mean I've had people who like left school to go be doctors, but they would like they had the personality to be the doctor, but not a teacher. It's like, yeah, you're right, just go be a doctor. You actually are can't be a teacher. It's not for you. And so you know, that's ⁓ like you said, people who leave leave and do other things and I think that's the right decision for them. ⁓ Efrain: His his is low sensitive. This is low sensitive. ⁓ Yeah. He ends up opening a a law firm and he's very successful and he has so many people. So I was like, this wasn't for you in no way. Like you didn't need to be here. ⁓ it Exactly ⁓ Erin Sims, LPC-S: Right. Totally. And maybe you are the reason that he ended up finding it's a different way to think about, you know, like you like people that leave find what's for them and hopefully it's you know, a path that's fulfilling. That's what matters. Yeah. You should get free representation. Like you should be like, You are my like on call attorney. Like what is it called? Like on retainer? On retainer. Efrain: Yeah. You just never know. You never know why why it happens. And and see he should thank me actually. Now now that I think about it. Yeah. Yep, yep, yep. Y you know what's so cool, ⁓ kinda to what we're talking about is that some of these kids that are your trouble kids that ⁓ not because they're not smart kids, as you mentioned, life be life in at home. ⁓ and sometimes this is how they kind of almost act out or cry out per se. And ⁓ I barely graduated high school, Aaron. I think I may have told you this. I graduated at two point ⁓ I remember the last day walking off campus, I was actually just going to receive a certificate of completion because I didn't pass one of the assessment tests. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah. Yes. Efrain: I could have to care less. I did twelve years, I was I was done. As I was walking off, that's when I found out, hey, you passed yes that standardized test. Cool, cool, cool. So I graduated and I never really left the high school. I continued to come back to just be a mentor. ⁓ just because I had really good teachers that I still had relationships with. And then I wanted to hand out during those times, like going to college, you needed a laptop. So I wanted to make sure that people had laptops to go to school. So handed out some of those and I was just kind of doing that work. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Right. Mm. Efrain: And then years later, I find myself on the board that I even know existed at Montwood High School. But I lead that organization now. And ⁓ as I'm getting ready for this first event, ⁓ it's kind of that rebrand. All I could think about is inviting all these teachers that were a part of that journey at that same school so they can see who Ephraim became. Because a lot of times, as you mentioned, you don't know what they become. But also so the people in that room that are going to be donating that day realize like they can speak to these teachers on who I was. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Mm-hmm. Totally. Efrain: Was I the best kid? And I always say that I wasn't the best kid in school, but it goes to show that I had really good leaders in my life and these teachers were it that allowed me to be here because they seen more in me than I seen in myself at that moment. So kudos to you, Aaron, because the work that you do is not about, I always say it is not about the paycheck. It's truly about the passion and the purpose. ⁓ so kudos for you, man. Give us a little bit more insight of what you guys are doing at Via Link. Like I see that you guys are do working with the youth, you guys are working in so many different spaces. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah. ⁓ yeah. You know what? Yeah, so I'll talk a little bit more about our line. So, like I said, 988 is the National Suicide Prevention Hotline. Anywhere in America, the United States, that you call or text or chat 988, you will be connected with a real person who can assist in any type of emotional support, whether it be like I need to vent, I'm feeling anxious, I need to get this off my chest, or a loved one I know is struggling with. substance abuse issues and I don't know where to start or I am experiencing ⁓ suicidal ideation or thoughts and I don't know what to do. Any type of mental health concern, there is nothing too big or too small. So when you call in Louisiana, there's two call centers and via link is one of them. So we have ⁓ you know, our call specialist is what we call them, and they work from home much like a therapist would be, you know, in a private confidential space on a very sophisticated computer setup that's way fancier than my VLA computer, ⁓ that helps them get the calls, and then they just sit in their home, take the calls ⁓ all day long. and to kind of give you an idea of what a call looks like, our average call is about 15 minutes, only about one percent of the time. Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Do people actually need emergency services or request them? It's usually 99% of the time just talking, like how how we said, like, you know, the person that you kind of go in and it's like a faucet. ⁓ one of my colleagues always says, get the gunk out. And I love that because it's true, right? Like sometimes you just need to get it out. that's a that that helps our brain. And and the science behind that is real. It's not just like, ⁓ people need to blow off steam. When we say that, we really mean your brain. Efrain: Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: processes when you say out loud what's going on and name the feeling, name name the things that are going on, that helps your brain understand and regulate and know what to do. And that's how we rewrite those panic moments is we say like I can panic or I can do some of these strategies that I know, identify what's going on with me and then decide what to do. It doesn't mean we're not gonna panic. ⁓ but you know it helps us it helps us calm down. It helps us ⁓ reframe it helps us decide like, yeah, some bad stuff is going on, but there's also some good stuff going on, and how do we stay safe for right now? So ⁓ that's what 988 is. ⁓ we ⁓ have been operating it since it rolled out in 2022 with the Biden administration, which created the unified 988 number across the country. But we have been operating a suicide prevention hotline in Louisiana for about 20 years. 20, 30 years before that. So a while before that, because lines have always existed. This just helped unify us. ⁓ so we also do teen text and the parent line in Louisiana. Those are both services available to anyone in Louisiana to call or text about ⁓ the parent line, any type of parent concerns, referrals, just non-judgmental again venting, ⁓ having someone to talk to, similar with the teen line. Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: If you have questions or ⁓ you know you're nervous to ask adults or don't know where to turn, you know, you can text the Louisiana Teen Text Line, anything about substance abuse, mental health, and you'll be connected with that caring person ⁓ who can provide a listening ear. ⁓ the services are available 24-7 every day of the year. ⁓ there's never a time when you shouldn't be able to get in touch with us. And ⁓ they're confidential. You don't have to tell us anything about yourself. They normally ask your zip code because that just helps us kind of understand wherein the state callers are coming from. But you do not have, you can say no, you know, anything you want to say no to, ⁓ you know, you're in the driver's seat. You are getting to tell us what's going on. And then it's our job to listen. And then if you want resources or referral information, we can do that too. But again, like I said, it can just be, I need to get it off my chest. Efrain: Mm-hmm. I was gonna ask you, ⁓ you talked about, you know, the phones, but are you guys texting and it seems like you guys are. So I mean meeting people are where they're at nowadays, right? You don't have to just call. You can text, it seems. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Totally. Yeah, and even chat, like if you are, you know, have a computer or a lot of people are, you know, per like like being on a computer. So if you imagine like your website and the little chat box pops up, the same thing. If you go to our 988 website for Louisiana, you can chat from there. ⁓ but yeah, texting has only gotten more and more popular. and over the last year we've increased staff that can respond to text because of that, needing to have more staff who were trained in the nuance. Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Of the text aspects of it. And then additionally, we've been working with all the major cell phone providers. So the way that 988 works is not based on your area code, it's based on your geolocation. So the cell phone providers communicate to us who's in Louisiana. And so it doesn't matter if you have an area code that's out of state, you'll be able to talk to someone in the state that you're in and get resources that would be locally to where you're at. Efrain: Mm-hmm. I love it. I love it. And as we start to ⁓ wrap this up because we're already in time here, I will be a disservice to everybody that's listening. You keep mentioning New Orleans. ⁓ can imagine the food is amazing. What what is the what what is what should we go eat when we go to New Orleans? I may actually be in New Orleans this this fall, so let me know where I'm going to go eat. Erin Sims, LPC-S: I think. Okay, yes, so you need to get a poeboy. That's to me kind of the thing that everyone should get. And there's a lot of variety to that, but I would say no matter what you should get it with gravy. And don't you might be like, why are you saying that? Just make the note in your phone that no matter what type of po boy you should get, you should get gravy on it. Efrain: At the graveyard. Erin Sims, LPC-S: and so if you're in the French quarter, I like Verdi Mart. It's kind of like a bodega that serves po-boys. ⁓ but if you can get any po-boy, I like Parkway, and that's ⁓ like the ⁓ that's like where they came from. And so ⁓ I would say you should go to Parkway for sure. I would say my favorite fine dining in New Orleans is a little off the beaten path. It's called Brigston's and ⁓ Frank Briggston is the chef. It's in the riverbend kind of area, which is ⁓ by Audubon Park, which is not close to the French Quarter, but still totally worth the visit. You can ride the streetcar from the French quarter to Audubon Park. And ⁓ yeah, it's like eating in someone's home and he comes out and talks to you. And so it's just to me kind of he also offers a plate that's like a little bit of everything from the menu, which is just like everything I want from a restaurant. Cause I want to try everything. That's what I would say. Don't order like a big meal for yourself. Tell the people. Efrain: Mm-hmm. I love it. Yeah. A sampler plate. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Tell the people you're with we are eating each other's food because there's too much to try. So that's my rec. No matter where you go, eat each other's food. And I like Braggstones for the like quintessential New Orleans fine dining experience. And then get a po-boy, please. And a snowball. Well, you're here in the fall. If you're here and it's hot, you have to get a snowball. New Orleans has a million snowball places, and they're like a kind of a again, a really classic New Orleans thing. Efrain: And it's not a ⁓ Lord, I'm definitely excited. Now I hear that all the time that New Orleans is a place to and and especially to eat. ⁓ born and raised in New Orleans? Erin Sims, LPC-S: I was born and raised in South Alabama. So about two and a half hours from here, New Orleans was like where my parents would take me on the weekend. ⁓ you know 'cause there's the zoo, the aquarium. New Orleans is like the closest big city to where I grew up close to Mobile, Alabama in a small town called Foley. but yeah, I love New Orleans and ⁓ just always, like you said, it's a cool place to be. I think that you if you've never been, you will love it. I know you will. Efrain: I love it. What do you tell yourself every day you wake up and and you have such a positive attitude? You're just the smile, the happiness. What are you telling yourself every day to wake up to c have this? Erin Sims, LPC-S: I think I ⁓ I just do have a lot of natural energy, I would say. So I feel like I like to do something with it. ⁓ but I also have an I I tell people this like I'm a hard worker and I'm positive, but I can be pretty negative. Like my mindset is like I told you, it's stuck to like think about what happened that was bad. So to me, like moving and doing and educating myself and literally just keep moving forward has been what's always helped me. Like ⁓ if I'm feeling negative about something, an issue, then I'm just gonna. Efrain: Yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: to do something. I'm not gonna sit there and think about it. That kind of I've realized makes me a little crazy. So I have to do something. And so whether it be call someone, whether it be ⁓ reach out to that person via email or whether it be even just like talk to my colleague. What do you think about this? So I think like there is a lot in advocacy to get down on or there's a lot of defeat. Like you hear no so many times. And so I think I just kind of stay motivated by ⁓ trying to solve the problem, getting like angry about the problem a little bit, or being like, no, we're gonna do this. and so yeah, I think I try to channel my energy into not feeling down but being motivated. And ⁓ I think I told you about my trash can method. ⁓ I try at the end of the day to be like, what can I throw off of me to forget right now? What can I put in the trash can? That was what a therapist told me at a hospital that I worked at. Efrain: Yeah, yeah. Erin Sims, LPC-S: And what can I pick back up? And like I th I have notes all over my desk. So I try to kind of throw the things down that are hard and pick them back up. and ⁓ not carry them around with me when I don't need to. Efrain: Yeah. That's funny. I told my wife that yesterday actually. We were I was going to a doctor. She said, What was your you know, your ⁓ heart rate or whatever? So I tell her the numbers, she's like, Wow, that's so good you know, and I was like, Yeah, because any like w anywhere I go I'm pretty chill and I was like, you know, what I do, kinda similar to what you just said, Aaron, is like life could be lifing, I could be str I could have just cried three minutes ago and then you get live and then that moment doesn't even work like you're just in the moment. ⁓ good thing and bad thing? would say. you know, I'm so tired of work on it. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah, it is Yeah, it's right. Like I let mys I'm an emotional person, I let myself feel it strong and then I'm kind of back to work. Like I don't deny myself that. ⁓ you know, ⁓ and I think that makes you good at what you do. ⁓ you know, ⁓ being able just to feel your emotion and be like that's okay and now it's okay if I'm back to work. Like I don't have to ⁓ feel stuck or married to any emotion or problem. I can move forward. Efrain: That is funny. I am emotional as well. And I would sometimes start laughing to myself. I'm like, Lord, it's my period. ⁓ I got Erin Sims, LPC-S: Totally. I will be like, why am I crying? Or I'll have to turn music off. Like I have to stop doing things sometimes to keep myself on track. 'Cause I'll get pulled I'll get pulled into a sad moment real quick. Efrain: That is so funny. Real quick. I like it. Aaron. Aaron, you have a question for our next guest. So what is the question that you have? Erin Sims, LPC-S: It's so funny that this is how we're ending because I thought it's about me. So like I feel pretty strongly about a lot of things and like I said can be negative. So my next question is like for the person is what is your most like irrationally strong opinion? Like what is the trivial thing that you will argue about every time? Because I have a million. So like I I think that's a great thing to think about. Efrain: That is so good. Listen, that is so good. I have friends that I just would not argue with because you know what? They just think they're right and I'm gonna let you have your opinion on the Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. This is the one that you would argue about and and there's no reason to do it, but you feel that strongly. Efrain: I love it. Aaron, where can more people find information? ⁓ you gave into the website, is there a socials? Can people find you on LinkedIn as well? Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah. So yeah. So at VLink two one one, we'd run two one one two, which is the a health and human service line, again available anywhere in the country, usually in partnership with United Way, can provide any basic need resources. So we are at via link two one one on all of our social media we also have a website where you can check out all of our data if you love data you can see like how many people access 988 what's the typical like ⁓ needs that they might have again it's non-identifiable data but it shows you how things are being utilized and what the concerns are across the state. ⁓ so yeah via link.com for all of that and then at ViaLink211 on Instagram, Facebook LinkedIn YouTube. Efrain: Is it via link.com or dot org? Okay. Good I'm looking, I'm like, is is it that org? Alright, cool, cool. Make a show I wasn't the wrong one here. ⁓ Erin Sims, LPC-S: Dot org. You're right. No. No. And in Louisiana, nine nine eight eight Louisiana ⁓ has a website too that we ⁓ that OBH, the Office of Behavioral Health runs. So if there's an anybody that would want to know more about the whole nine eighty eight across the state, that's a great resource as well. Efrain: Well, Aaron, thank you so much for being who you are, just always being authentically you. ⁓ this is the second time that we've been able to have a conversation and I loved it just as much today. ⁓ may you continue to do the amazing work, may you continue to fertilize the future, may you continue to never give up. ⁓ and be reminded why you do it. Those stories. I think while we get emotional and sometimes we get so caught up in these feelings and asking ourselves, why am I still doing it? Those moments always remind us why we still do it. So ⁓ shout outs to that story, shout out to those that are still watching. Make sure that you guys do like. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Return. Efrain: subscribe and comment and again via link.org if you want to find out find out any more things that are are is happening with via link and what is Aaron talking about. There's so many different resources that you guys can actually check that we didn't even talk about today. But this is what we love to do. We just have these conversations and sometimes we don't know what we don't know. Today we helped you. I'm Efrayne, this is Aaron. We'll catch you on the next one. Later. Erin Sims, LPC-S: Yeah.