1968

Three volunteers meet in a church basement and create a loosely organized”housing hotline” to connect Miami Dade Community College [now Miami Dade College] students with potential roommates and landlords.  City officials contact the volunteers for help with the anticipated Vietnam War protestors who would likely create havoc as the Republican National Convention convened here.  They agree and the “housing hotline” begins to receive calls from visiting dissenters that go beyond housing needs to a myriad of issues such as hunger, drug and alcohol abuse, violence and so on.  Because many of the callers are younger, the “housing hotline” was nicknamed the “hippie hotline.”

1970

The organization officially incorporates as Switchboard of Miami, Inc. [Switchboard] and continues to offer HELPline services.

1980

Direct, face-to-face prevention and clinical services for youth and their families are offered in schools and the community to help strengthen and maintain local family units.

1980-81

Over 125,000 Cubans arrive in South Florida as part of the Mariel Boatlift.  About 10% of the refugees were from mental institutions and prisons and are in need of crisis services.  The HELPline expands to offer a special hotline specifically for the immigrants.  Services are offered in English and Spanish.  Several years later, Creole is added and Switchboard remains as the only American crisis line offering assistance in these three languages.

Mid 1980s

The use of crack cocaine explodes in Miami-Dade County.  To provide substance abuse services, Switchboard becomes licensed by the Florida Department of Children and Families (then HRS).  The HELPline employs updated phone counseling methods, case management and referrals for people with drug and alcohol problems. Telephone services now include comprehensive follow-up.

1990

Teen Link, 24-hour hotline for younger residents, is added.  Using prerecorded messages, teens are able to easily access a variety of factual information over the phone.  If needed, they can speak with a counselor.  The line still exists today and has received over 2.5 million calls since its inception. 

1992

The HELPages become the first comprehensive printed social services in the county.  A critical resource tool for service providers and other organizations, the directory is in great demand.   Today, the HELPages are available on-line.

1993

Hurricane Andrew devastates South Florida and the HELPline receives more than 1,500 calls each day.  Switchboard works with other organizations like the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the United Way to coordinate post-disaster information.  In Homestead and Cutler Ridge, Switchboard staff are deployed to offer crisis counseling and referrals.  Switchboard is a co-founder of the county’s Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (DC-VOAD).  Years later, Switchboard still participates in annual disaster preparedness planning and works closely with the local Office of Emergency Management.  When a disaster is pending, Switchboard sends a team of crisis counselors to the Emergency Operations Center and the HELPline remains open during the worst of conditions.

1997

Concerned about violence directed at the gay community, Switchboard creates an Anti-Violence hotline to serve as a resource to help victims of violence and to build awareness and acceptance about gay/lesbian issues. 

Late 1990s

Switchboard begins to offer specialty lines such as: Miami River Hotline (environmental concerns); WAGES (for those transitioning out of the welfare system); ACCESS Hotline (for people with disabilities and their families); and, United Way Careline (donors).   As community needs change, lines are added and discontinued.

2000

New direct service programs are added to deal with a variety of issues related to youth: Substance Abuse; Truancy; Domestic/Teen Dating Violence; and, Pregnancy Prevention.

2003

Switchboard becomes the local certified 2-1-1 Provider; later, The Children’s Trust funds the 2-1-1 line.

2006

Seniors Never Alone, an in- and out- bound program to ensure the well-being of seniors is established.

2008

Switchboard begins to answer 2-1-1 for wireless phone callers in Collier and Monroe Counties.  In total, Switchboard answers 183,000 phone calls in 2008.

2009

Named as an official back-up for Lifeline, Switchboard begins to receive suicide-related calls from Spanish callers nationwide and English-speakers from the Southeastern United States, while remaining the Lifeline Center for Miami-Dade callers.  Today, Switchboard averages about 1700 suicide-related calls.  Also, a special two-year funded project from the Dade Foundation creates BrAIve, a helpline for veterans and active personnel of the Afghanistan and Iraq military arenas and their families.