Online Crisis Intervention (OCI) exists to take meaningful help to young people experiencing distress. We do this by providing real-time interpersonal support to people whose social media posts indicate distress.
“I’ve met so many new people who are all here for the same purpose. Even though we are all different, we are all here to try and help others.” – Volunteer
What it means to become an OCI Volunteer
- Use your skills or personal experience to help others
- Join a vibrant and supportive volunteer community across Aotearoa New Zealand (and the world)
- Make real and validated impact – an independent report called our service a “useful, well-received and effective tool to help young people in distress.”
- Work remotely from where you’re most comfortable – even at home in your pyjamas!
- Receive training in basic counselling skills and suicide intervention
We’re looking for people who are…
- Compassionate and empathetic, and can translate that into words
- Good at listening to others
- Able to volunteer 12 hours each month
- Open to learning different ways of helping
- In a healthy head space (and with good awareness around your own mental health)
- Able to access a computer, laptop or tablet, and a reliable internet connection
“I’m actually getting more help because you gave me the guts to get help and I’ve been almost a month clean without self harm ” – Young person online
A department of Zeal, OCI began three years ago in response to the massive number of social media posts we saw that spoke about time of distress and crisis. In that time we’ve reached out to almost 3,000 people experiencing crisis online, and secured the largest ever grant from the Vodafone NZ Foundation. Zeal’s mission is to get transforming, creative and innovative experiences to young people, and we have spent the last 20 years doing that by creating a sense of belonging in the spaces and events that we run.
