A BRIEF HISTORY OF TEL-AIDE

Nearly 30 years ago several people had the idea to come to the aid of persons in distress in the Montréal area. They brought several others together to undertake the project that would be known as Tel-Aide. Here is a brief history of Tel-Aide with the founders and the roles they played.

One founder was Rev. Ian Stuchberry of Christ Church Cathedral. Following a Sunday sermon in which he emphasized the importance of expressing one's Christian faith by concrete acts, he was approached by several members of the church who asked him what they could do. He met with them and together they agreed that the greatest problem that they observed in the community was loneliness. Isolation was a symptom of a complex of other problems. During the meeting, Stuchberry talked about his experience with the Samaritans and the decision was taken to create a telephone service where people could call and be heard.

He met Victoria Shipton, director of the Centre for Christian Research at St. Patrick's Church (now Basilica) and Sister Dolores Riopel who represented the francophone sector. They all had the same idea and joined the founding team of
Tel-Aide.

No one remembers who proposed the name
"Tel-Aide", although Sister Riopel recalls discussion about the name. "Tel" works in both languages as an abbreviated form of "telephone", and "Aide" refers to helping or meeting a need, which was and remains the objective of the organization.

More founding members were recruited by this nucleus of persons. One was Albert Menard of Radio-Canada, who made Tel-Aide well known. A Bell Canada employee brought Marcel Boileau, then head of public relations. He arranged that Tel-Aide could use a space for training, and provided telephone and office equipment. He also helped by arranging for Tel-Aide to be listed at the front of the white pages of the telephone directory from the very beginning. Marcel helped to establish our relationship with Bell Canada and arranged that operators would refer suicide calls to Tel-Aide.

Gordon Winch of the Toronto Crisis Centre gave the first volunteer training. Twenty-four-hour service was assured thanks to the time given by two-thirds of the directors. The first office was located at the Atwater Library, with two French and two English lines.

Recruitment was by word of mouth and on CBC radio. Soon Tel-Aide counted some 300 volunteers among its ranks.

At this time there was no government support. Fundraising events were organized and campaigns addressed the public, corporations, and foundations. In 1975, it became possible to hire a full-time staff.

Tel-Aide has evolved into a service composed of two parallel units with the same goal. Since its creation in 1971, Tel-Aide has offered a 24-hour service to lonely people with no one to confide in. From the beginning, volunteers have themselves been responsible for recruiting, training, and supporting new listeners.

The survival of our mission has sometimes been challenged and it is still fragile, but we are constantly working to recruit new volunteers, to gain recognition, and to raise the funds we need to fulfil the vision of our founders.

Tel-Aide is supported by the Mental Health Branch of the Régie régionale de la Santé, which provides 20 per cent of our funding. We depend for the other 80 per cent on the generosity of the individuals, foundations, and corporations who believe in what we are doing.

Through the years there have been many changes, trials and errors, and more than once we have confronted our limits. However, a board of directors composed of volunteers and external members, an executive director and a scheduler coordinate this work which began 30 years ago. This team supports some 200 volunteers who respond to over 38,000 calls out of 60,000 requests each year and without whom the service would not exist.

In an era where performance is valued more highly than human contact, Tel-Aide fulfils people's need for empathetic listening that is respectful and non-judgmental at any time of day or night.

The light in our eyes and hearts has never gone out. Thanks to people like you, we continue to fulfil the precious mission of Tel-Aide.