YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – When you need help, it’s important to have the right person on the other end of the phoneline. Help Network has been providing that assistance for 50 years.

It’s taken over two million phone calls in a half-century.

That work was recognized Friday.

Help Network started as a drug information line, four hours a day, six days a week. It has grown and now provides suicide and crisis prevention services, 211 information and referral to other community based programs.

“We take 130,000 calls each year, but we also have 800 people we supply face-to-face services for,” said Vince Brancaccio, Help Network CEO.

Help Network is starting a campaign focused on stopping suicides. There are five every day in Ohio.

Help Network has open positions on its crisis hotline to provide vital assistance. For more information about those positions, visit the Help Network website.