<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"   Lani Hay &amp;amp;amp; Robbie Myers   Last week, as part of the White House Correspondents&amp;#039; Dinner weekend, ELLE was proud to join Lanmark Technology to co-host a dinner in Washington, D.C., promoting a new series of public service announcements that raise awareness of the Veterans Crisis Line, a 24-hour, all-year counseling and suicide prevention hotline for veterans, active duty service members, and military families (1-800-273-8255). The PSAs were created by Blue Star Families, who run several programs supporting the loved ones of military servicemen and women, and the Creative Coalition, a nonpartisan group that unites artists and figures from film, television, music, fashion, and sports for social advocacy. The series features Oscar winners Melissa Leo and Cher, Emmy winner Michael Chiklis, NBC All Star Rick Fox and a roster of other icons. After a screening of the PSAs, ELLE Editor-in-Chief Robbie Myers joined Lanmark president and CEO Lani Hay, the night&amp;#039;s host (and a former Navy intelligence officer), in thanking Blue Star Families, the Creative Coalition, and the members of Veteran Affairs in attendance for being &amp;quot;the ambassadors of democracy.&amp;quot; Hay then introduced Dr. Caitlin Thomas, the clinical care coordinator of the Crisis Line, who shared stories from her counselors\u2014which currently field almost 500 calls a day, and have received over 400,000 calls since the hotline was launched three-and-a-half years ago. Their callers run the gamut from &amp;quot;a 96-year-old Korean War veteran,&amp;quot; to &amp;quot;a 19-year-old service member just leaving for his second tour, who didn&amp;#039;t know if he would make it through,&amp;quot; to &amp;quot;a mother of a young service member who was talking to her, holding a gun to his head, while he was on Skype in Afghanistan before [the feed] cut out.&amp;quot; Over 20 times a day, their operators dispatch help, such as paramedics, to veterans and service members around the world.   Jack McBrayer, Cheryl Hynes &amp;amp;amp; Simon Helberg.  At the event, Private Practice star Tim Daly, the president of the Creative Coalition, told us that after directing and overseeing the editing of the PSA, he was &amp;quot;proud&amp;quot; to see it up on the big screen. He also admitted to sometimes being star-struck by politicians and service members during his yearly rounds at the White House Correspondents&amp;#039; Dinner. &amp;quot;One year I sat with Madeleine Albright. Colin Powell there, and Michael Bloomberg too\u2014it was a hot table.&amp;quot; Pretty Little Liars&amp;#039; Shay Mitchell was happy to commiserate with us afterward on our own intellectual crush on Daly (just out of earshot from table-mates Jack McBrayer and Jason Biggs.) &amp;quot;He&amp;#039;s got looks, talent, and such a great passion for an amazing cause\u2014supporting the men and women that are fighting for our freedom. What more could you ask for?&amp;quot; We also spoke to Emmy winner Patricia Arquette, a member of the Creative Coalition&amp;#039;s advisory board, about the PSA and the hotline. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s important for us to demystify the issue of suicide in the military,&amp;quot; she said, &amp;quot;And to tell our troops that we know there might be a hard adjustment process, but that it&amp;#039;s brave to ask for help, and that they can do it in a way that&amp;#039;s completely private.&amp;quot; The Veterans Support Line is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a years. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255), and press 1 for help. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/culture/news/a6399/elle-promotes-crisis-hotline-for-military-families-veterans-active-duty-members-in-dc-20667/>