About Us
Distress Centre Durham helps people in distress to cope, by providing emotional support, crisis/suicide management and community education. Our values provide the philosophical foundations for all that we do, collectively and individually, with service users, responder volunteers, staff and our communities.
Integrity:
Planning, organizing and implementing every activity honestly and ethically.
Standards of Excellence:
Recognizing the need for continuous self-evaluation, innovation and ongoing training (education) in order to maintain best practices in service delivery.
Being Service-Driven:
Ensuring that every decision puts the service user’s issue first.
Voluntarism:
Embracing and supporting the spirit of philanthropy and the value of voluntary action towards the enrichment of the community and individual lives.
Empowerment:
Supporting individuals in taking ownership of personal choices and aiding in the development of personal coping skills to manage their lives in a healthful manner.
Respect for all Persons:
Treating everyone with dignity and without judgement and using the power of our roles appropriately.
Accountability:
Delivering on our commitments.
Fellowship:
Maintaining and growing linkages with complementary agencies and/or community members.
Responsiveness:
Providing appropriate and timely service in an empathetic manner which serves the best interest of the service-user.
Being Community-Based:
Ensuring that services and programs are relevant and responsive to individual community needs trends and gaps in service.
Confidentiality:
Respecting and incorporating this principle as a fundamental component of our service delivery, unless it is waived by the caller, or unless life and / or personal safety are at risk.
Diversity:
Creating and celebrating an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with dignity & respect, regardless of background, ethnicity, language, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age, disability or economic status.
Connectedness:
Aiding individuals in the development of support networks, which build on personal coping skills to include resource information for relevant community organizations / agencies.