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Our vision:
Switchboard Of Miami will be the premier organization that provides and connects people with the human services they need.
Our mission:
Switchboard Of Miami connects all people in need with community resources, provides counseling and empowers individuals 24 x 7 with just one call.
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Our History
1968: Switchboard of Miami, Inc., was established when a group of students at Miami-Dade Community College (now Miami Dade College) set up a loosely organized telephone service to make housing referrals and to connect roommates. They started to receive calls from young people who needed refuge from life on the streets, referrals for drug problems, and counseling for family crises.
1980: The agency established both the Community Education Department and the Family Services Department to provide direct, face-to-face prevention and clinical services to youth and their families. Both programs aim to preserve families by strengthening the relationships between parents and their children.
1980-81: During the Mariel boatlift, 125,000 people arrived in South Florida from Cuba. Approximately 10 percent of these refugees had been released from Cuban prisons and mental institutions and were in need of crisis services. Consequently, the HELPline expanded its role in Dade County to include a new hotline specifically for immigrants. Bilingual staff and volunteers were actively recruited. As our community’s demographics shifted, the HELPline evolved into a fully integrated trilingual agency offering services in English, Spanish, and Creole.
Mid-1980s: Miami-Dade County experienced an epidemic of crack cocaine use. Switchboard became licensed by the Florida Department of Children and Families (then HRS) to provide substance abuse services. The HELPline responded to this community crisis with on-the-phone case management and referrals for people with drug and alcohol problems. Telephone services now include comprehensive follow-up.
1990: Switchboard created the Link Line, a 24-hour hotline for teenagers. The Link Line was developed to provide prerecorded messages of factual information on a variety of issues of concern to teenagers. It also provides opportunities for them to speak directly with counselors. The Link Line has received more than 2 million calls since its inception.
1992: The HELPages became the first comprehensive directory of social services in Miami-Dade County. This directory is a critical resource tool for service providers and is used extensively by Miami-Dade governmental agencies, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and hospitals.
During the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, the HELPline received more than 1,500 calls each day. Switchboard assisted the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the United Way in establishing post-disaster information systems. Outreach trailers were opened in Homestead and Cutler Ridge to aid victims through direct crisis counseling and referrals. As a result of the sobering lessons of this community-wide disaster, the HELPline has been working on disaster preparedness along with 40 other local nonprofits and the Miami-Dade County Office of Emergency Management. Switchboard is a founding member of Miami-Dade County Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (DC-VOAD).
1996: The HELPages were made available in CD-ROM format to meet the community’s growing demand for electronic information.
1997: As an attempt to defuse the violence directed at the gay community, Switchboard created an Anti-Violence Helpline. The objective was to serve as a resource to help those individuals who are victims of violence, as well as to build awareness and acceptance within the greater community.
In keeping with our mission to meet the needs of specific groups within our community, Switchboard also developed the Miami River Hotline (an environmental hotline), the WAGES Hotline (for people transitioning out of welfare), the ACCESS Hotline (for people with disabilities and their families), and the United Way Careline (for United Way donors).
2000: Family Services implemented a Substance Abuse Intervention Service and a Truancy Program while Community Education developed new programs such as Domestic Violence/Teen Dating Violence and the Pregnancy Prevention Program.
2004: Switchboard received more than 168,000 calls from the Miami-Dade community. These calls came from 42,000 families seeking help with basic survival needs; 13,000 teenagers asking assistance on matters related to suicide, substance abuse, physical abuse, or sexual abuse; 4,200 victims of domestic violence; and 3,600 individuals with concerns related to suicide. |
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Prevention and Clinical Services
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