In 1980, Help-In-Crisis, Inc. had its beginnings as an idea in the minds and the hearts of many caring people in the Tahlequah area. There were mental health professionals, ministers, law enforcement officials, medical personnel, and other social service workers who had long seen the need for some form of organized, easily obtainable, 24-hour assistance for people in crisis.
     Linda Axley and Gary Wedgewood began organizing meetings and brought together a forum of people who were interested in working on a crisis intervention program. At that time, the organization was called Crisis Intervention/Domestic Violence Intervention Project because the community determined that a crisis line was needed for people who were contemplating suicide, were acutely depressed, had drug and alcohol abuse problems, or who were being battered.. Participants in the project were working toward providing emergency assistance to individuals in crisis at any time of the day or night.
     In the fall of 1980, a Board of Directors with twelve members was formed, and the name Help-In-Crisis was officially chosen.
     In the spring of 1981, Help-In-Crisis was ready to begin training volunteers to help with the crisis line and the transporting of women and children to shelters around the state. Help-In-Crisis obtained donated space from the Fire Department where volunteers handled calls from clients. 
     In May 1981, the Help-In-Crisis organization became one of the member programs of the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.
     Throughout the years, the goals of Help-In-Crisis have remained the same; to provide quality crisis intervention services to Cherokee, Wagoner, Sequoyah, and Adair counties; to provide refuge for domestic violence victims and their children; to provide advocates for domestic violence and sexual assault victims; to promote alternative thinking that will enable people to live without violence or fear; and to do all of this in a caring and calm manner. The staff is now more than 25 strong, and the program scope continues to expand with the recent addition of Child Advocacy Centers in Sallisaw and Wagoner, one Batterer's Treatment program, and the 2009 opening of Encore, the Help-In-Crisis resale shop.