Help Line is an information and referral service and first response point for crisis calls in Luzerne and Wyoming Counties. It operates twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year manned by trained caseworkers as a program of the Family Service Association of Wyoming Valley.

Help Line was established in 1972 after Hurricane Agnes to provide a central resource for vital information for the victims of this devastating disaster. In 1975 Help Line entered into agreements with a number of area agencies to provide twenty-four hour crisis services. Soon after, other agencies signed onto the service and Help Line became the crisis center for most Wyoming Valley social service agencies.

Help Line currently acts as the after hours crisis service for twenty-one different organizations serving Luzerne and Wyoming Counties. It is the central access point for problems and issues regarding:
Mental Health - Child Abuse/Neglect Reports
Drug and Alcohol  - Runaway  - Energy Assistance
Homeless Services  - Victim services

In addition to handling crisis situations Help Line is also an information and referral service. Help Line maintains an active data listing of over 400 local agencies, as well as over 16,000 additional regional, state and national resources. If you need to know where the nearest AA group is being held or the telephone number for the turkey hotline to make sure Thanksgiving dinner is a success, Help Line is there to assist you. Help Line has handled over 2 million calls since the start of operations in 1972.

Help Line also publishes a service directory to aid agencies and individuals in identifying and locating human services in Luzerne and Wyoming Counties plus other regional resources. Directories are available at Help Line, Family Services Association of Wyoming Valley, and the United Way offices in Hazelton or Tunkhannock.  

The Help Line staff handled approximately 95,000 calls during the year ending June 30, 2009; this breaks down to approximately 261 calls per day. The vast majority of Help Line calls are made from Luzerne and Wyoming Counties and other contiguous counties. However, Help Line also received calls from thirty five other counties in Pennsylvania as well as twenty-three different states and Canada.

Help Line is a member of the Alliance of Information & Referral Systems (AIRS) and the Pennsylvania Alliance of Information & Referral Systems (PA AIRS).

To review a copy of the Help Line Annual report click here.

Help Line
Telephone: (570) 829-1341 or 1-888-829-1341                          
Fax: (570) 829-5055
31 West Market Street                                                             Click the phone
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701                                                          for the Help Line Jingle.
e-mail: helpline@fsawv.org                                                    This will open a pop up box.
                                                                                                   For best results wait for the entire file to
                                                                                                      downloaded before playing the jingle. 

Help Line's web site was designed by Misericordia University's New Media Department and is hosted by the university.