More than six times a day on average, a staff member at Advocates-Crisis, Trauma and Survivor Services in Craig answers a call to the 24-hour hotline and devotes some 15 to 45 minutes to providing emotional support or resources to someone in need.

The caller often may just need a local, knowledgeable, understanding person to speak with, or the call may be the start of extended support by the Advocates team for the top traumatic situations of suicidal ideation, a mental health crisis, domestic violence or sexual assault including on a child.

Those hotline calls increased by 27% in 2024 compared to 2023. Advocates leaders say 95% of calls come from Moffat County residents, with almost 5% from Rio Blanco County. If needed, an on-scene crisis team can be dispatched within 20 minutes or may arrive within 20 minutes in Craig.

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“Our hotline is utilized by a huge amount of people in our community,” said Monique Williams, who has worked at Advocates for five years. “Domestic violence (calls), we have very high numbers.”

Advocates offers support for a child sex assault case at least every other month, an amount they know is “shockingly high.” Williams believes the heightened reporting of child sex assault may be “because they know we are here for them.”

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“We have had a huge influx of child sex assaults,” said Michaela Smith, who has worked for Advocates for five years, noting Advocates youth volunteers are helping to raise awareness. “That is partially because of us having people that age understanding the services that we provide and saying ‘you can find support here.'”

“We are so happy we can be here for this community in such a horrible crisis time in the family’s life,” Williams said. “We are so glad they can have a free service like us who come to them immediately in person and support them through the entire process.”

The staff believe so many people turn to Advocates because they are a trusted, free resource of local professionals who have largely been through similar traumas in their own lives.

“This work is a passion for all of us,” said Erik Plate, a peer lead who has worked at Advocates for three years.

Across 2024, the standalone nonprofit, which was formerly known as Open Hearts Advocates, fielded 2,281 hotline calls and served 2,553 individuals. The nonprofit is marking its one-year anniversary this month as a separate nonprofit after some five years under the umbrella of Memorial Regional Health.

The busy nonprofit has existed in Moffat County for victim and crisis services since 1978 and expanded to provide support in Rio Blanco County in 2021. Some of the calls for assistance also come from people in Hayden or Baggs, Wyoming.

Advocates operates three arms of service for domestic violence, sexual assault and crime victims. The nine full-time staff members include peer recovery coaches, a licensed clinical social worker and program directors to help with issues ranging from community trauma response to human trafficking. The nonprofit also assists with first-responder support through the Bears Ears Critical Incident Stress Management Team and operates an emergency shelter at an undisclosed, secure location.

The nonprofit’s mission of advocacy, education, community healing and safety aims to provide quality, compassionate and non-judgmental services in a manner that fosters self-respect, dignity and independence in people experiencing crime, violence and trauma.

The nonprofit is supported by volunteers, state and federal funding, other nonprofit funders and an active board. Local donations are also key, including the next benefit fundraiser — the Kick the Winter Blues county concert scheduled for 7-11:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, at Yampa Valley Brewing Co. in Craig.

The staff believes their service has always been quiet but effective. This year they are pushing for an increased profile in the community so that residents will call proactively for help before a tough situation leads to a crisis.

“We are not very flashy, but we are effective,” Plate said.

The organization offers a domestic violence support group for clients, and a goal for spring is to add a free healthy relationships online support group. The nonprofit also is starting the search for a new executive director.

“We do want to make sure that we are easy to find for everyone,” Williams said. “It is our goal to be attainable as a resource for our entire community.”