What is a TCall? FAQ
Shortcut to this page http://bit.ly/2csu0V5 In
Crisis? Text 741741
and Message
"Help" or "SOS" up to 140 characters
Crisis Text Line Brings Help to Troubled Teens Where They Live — Their Phones
What is a
TCall? What does
"SOS" mean? What is the Crisis
Text Line? Following through, the organization recently released a look into their data and a sample of encoded messages. The visual part of the release shows when text messages typically come in, and you can subset by issue, state, and days. It could use some work, but it’s a good start. Hopefully they keep working on it and release more data as the set grows. It could potentially do a lot of good. When a young woman texted DoSomething.org with a heartbreaking cry for help, the organization responded by opening a nationwide Crisis Text Line for people in pain. Over 20 million text messages later, the organization is using the privacy and power of text messaging to help people handle addiction, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, sexual abuse and more. But there's an even bigger win: The anonymous data collected by text is teaching us when crises are most likely to happen — and helping schools and law enforcement to prepare for them by using technology and data to help save lives. Statistics show that.."Only 5% of
teens are willing to call phone crisis lines, but they're
more willing to text. Texting 741741 is a way to text
anonymously with a crisis counselor." Extra
Benefits While the computer is locating a trained counselor in the texters district, it is analyzing the text provided by the texter and when the system finds an available counselor, on that counselor's screen is an analysis of the texters text saying something like "42% of the texters who say this are cutters." Or "87% are in severe crisis." Or what ever algorithm the computer says which has over 35,000,000 previous texts. And then, on the screen appears the next best question for the counselor to ask to get the texter from hot to cool calm or contacting 911. Advantages of 741741 over all other systems: 1. The number is easy to remember 2. Text base helps people who have a hard time talking about something or are in a situation where it's not safe to talk like a domestic violence situation or bullying in the cafeteria or on the school bus. The texter can look like they're just playing on their cell phone. 3. Provides responses that are current, including the 400 texts that have come in nationally during their texting. These algorithms have proven to provide more accurate information than a psychiatrist or psychologist much less a regular trained advocate with limited professional training. 4. The text might have a panic attack
or black out during the session and not remember everything
that was said to them. They can actually go back through
their text and see exactly what the counselor has
recommended including resources. What is its
origin? But 741741 is indeed the number for the Crisis Text Hotline. While the meme specified "teens," the number is available to anyone in crisis which includes deaf or the hard of hearing. It is especially effective who are in the presense of dnger and a phone call to 911 might draw the activity to them when the perpetrator hears them talking. This wouldn't happen with Text Messaging. Some Recent History Crisis Text Line experienced a
noteworthy increase in volume immediately after Donald
Trump's election as President of the United States.
Specifically, the data revealed that "election" and "scared"
were the words that overindexed most in the days after the
election, and that the word "scared" was most frequently
associated with LGBTQ texters. How does the Crises
Text Line work? A live, trained crisis counselor receives the text and responds quickly. The crisis counselor helps you move from a hot moment to a cool calm to stay safe and healthy using effective active listening and suggested referrals – all through text message using CTL’s secure platform. Who should text
in? The Crisis Text Hotline also notes in its FAQ section that all text messages are anonymous and free, although charges may apply with carriers other than AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, or Verizon. In a June 2015 article published by the Chicago Tribune, Nancy Lublin, the CEO of DoSomething.org, explained why she founded the Crisis Text Line: The text message to a DoSomething.org
Those words quickly made their way to Nancy Lublin, the CEO of the New York City-based youth empowerment group, which runs do-good campaigns by text, like initiatives for gender-neutral bathrooms and sharing tips to prevent texting while driving. Lublin's staff had received a few messages — concerns about bullying and the like — unrelated to their campaigns, but "that one message stopped me in my tracks," Lublin said. "It was like being punched in the stomach. The first rule of marketing and sales is: Go where demand is. People want this by text. We should be supplying crisis counseling by text." That week, Lublin started building Crisis Text Line, a national 24/7 text number — 741741 — available to everyone but mostly used by teens. It went live two years later in 2013 in Chicago and El Paso, Texas. Chicago was chosen because of the influence of an early funder, the Chicago-based MacArthur Foundation. El Paso was a data-driven decision based on its large Latino population. Within four months, the line had been
contacted by cellphones from every area code in America. The
organization is expected to surpass 7 million messages by
July, and Lublin is now in need of more counselors. About Us Crisis Text Line is free, 24/7 support for those in crisis. Text 741741 from anywhere in the USA to text with a trained Crisis Counselor. Crisis Text Line trains volunteers
(like you!) to support people in crisis. With 20,070,473
messages processed to date, we’re growing quickly, but
so is the need. Apply to be a crisis counselor now. Our
principles We believe data science and technology make us faster and more accurate. See our Founder’s TED talk for more scoop on how we’re using this stuff. While we love data science and technology, we don’t think robots make great Crisis Counselors. Instead, we use this stuff to make us faster and more accurate–but every text is viewed by a human. We believe in open collaboration. We share our learnings in newsletters, at conferences and on social media. And, we’ve opened our data to help fuel other people’s work. Q: How does the Crisis Text Line work? A: You text 741741 when in crisis. Available 24/7 in the USA. A live, trained crisis counselor receives the text and responds quickly. The crisis counselor helps you move from a hot moment to a cool calm to stay safe and healthy using effective active listening and suggested referrals – all through text message using Crisis Text Line’s secure platform. Q: Who should text in? A: We exist to help anyone in crisis at any time. Q: Who answers the text messages? A: Crisis Text Line crisis counselors are both rigorously trained volunteers and employees of our crisis center partners. Q: What can I expect when I text in? A: You’ll receive an automated text asking you what your crisis is. Within minutes, a live trained crisis counselor will answer your text. They will help you out of your moment of crisis and work with you to create a plan to continue to feel better. Q: Is the Crisis Text Line actually anonymous? A: Yes. Crisis counselors only know
what texters share with them, and that information stays
confidential. We take your anonymity seriously. Check out
our terms of service here
Q: How much does the Crisis Text Line cost? A: We do not charge texters. If your cell phone plan is with AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, or Verizon, texts to our short code, 741741 are free of charge. If you have a plan with a different carrier, standard text message rates apply. Q: Will the Crisis Text Line show up on my cell phone bill? A: Nothing will appear on your bill if your cell phone plan is with AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, or Verizon. If your plan is with another carrier our short code, 741741 will appear on your billing statement. Read about how this happened here. Q: Will the Crisis Text Line work with my phone? A: The Crisis Text Line works on all major US carriers, and most minor regional carriers. However, shortcodes (like 741741) are not allowed on many prepaid plans like T-Mobile’s. Q: I had a great experience when I texted in. Can I text in again? A: You can text in again, if you are experiencing a crisis. However, you should not feel dependent on us. The Crisis Text Line is not a replacement for long-term counseling, in-person therapy, or a friend. Q: How long do I have to wait to text with a crisis counselor? A: Our goal is to respond to every texter in under 5 minutes. During high volume times, such as at night or when people are talking about us on social media, wait times may be longer. Q: Is there a character limit when texting the Crisis Text Line? A: Yes, our system is only able to process 140 characters in one message. Q: Why am I receiving an error message or no response at all? Sadly, there are some carriers who
have not adopted the use of shortcodes–and the small
percentage of people with these phones, can’t use the
Crisis Text Line. (We hear that sometimes you get an
auto-error response. Sometimes nothing at all. We know this
is shitty and we wish those carriers would enable us). If
your phone carrier doesn’t enable shortcodes,
here
Q: Is there any other way to reach the Crisis Text Line besides text? A: Yes, you can reach us through Facebook Messenger. Access to message Crisis Text Line is located through Facebook’s Safety checkpoint. This is accessible by flagging a user’s post. Q: Is I reach out via Facebook Messenger, does anonymity apply? A: Yes. We do not have access to your Facebook profile. The only information about you that we’ll know is what you share with us. Q: Is I reach out via Facebook Messenger, who has access to the data? A: Three parties: you (in your Messenger thread), the Crisis Text Line, and Facebook. Q: If I reach out via Facebook Messenger and I want my data deleted, what do I do? A: Message us back with the word ‘LOOFAH’. We’ll scrub your data from our system, and make a request to Facebook to do the same. Q: If I reach out via Facebook Messenger, which terms of service apply to me? A: By contacting the Crisis Text Line
through Facebook Messenger, users agree to Facebook
Messenger’s Terms of Service, as well as the Crisis
Text Line’s Terms
of Service. Q: Is Crisis Text Line counseling? A: No, our specialists do not counsel, but rather practice active listening to help texters move from a hot moment to a cool calm. Q: What is active listening? A: Active listening is when someone communicates in a way that is empathetic, understanding, and respectful. It includes focus on the texter and thoughtful answers. Q: What's the difference between Crisis Text Line and therapy? A: Crisis Text Line is not a replacement for therapy. Therapy includes a diagnosis made by a doctor, a treatment plan of action, and a patient/therapist relationship. Crisis Text Line helps people in moments of crisis. Our crisis counselors practice active listening to help our texters find calm and create an action plan for themselves to continue to feel better. Crisis Text Line’s crisis counselors are not therapists. Q: What are all of the crisis issues you track? Can you add more? A: See the issues we track at
www.crisistrends.org
Q: Who can apply for access to the Crisis Text Line's data? A: Data access is available to
approved academic researchers. Please visit www.crisistrends.org
How are we serving the Hispanic population, particularly because we don’t (yet) offer the service in Spanish? While we only receive a handful of conversations in Spanish, we do receive a lot of volume from Hispanic texters: they make up ~15% of our texter population. Here are some quick facts about Crisis Text Line texters who identify as Hispanic: Demographics Gender. (No difference.) Hispanic texters are slightly more likely to identify as female (74% vs. 73%) AND male (17% vs. 15%). More interestingly, Hispanic texters are less likely to identify as another gender such as Agender or Genderqueer, vs. other texters (9% vs. 12%, or ¼ lower). Age. (Wow!) 55% of our Hispanic texters identify as 17 or younger, vs. 46% of other texters. Quality Hispanic texters love us. Conversation quality is 2.5% higher for conversations with Hispanic texters vs. other texters. So, even though we’re English-only, our Hispanic texters are digging our service! Hispanic texters really share with us!
72% of Hispanic texters share something for the first time,
vs. 66% of other texters. Need
to talk? SOS via SMS: Help
for suicidal teens is a text message away Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers and college-age adults, making a text messaging initiative — started this month by Samaritans Inc. of Massachusetts to supplement the more traditional phone help line — a natural, Executive Director Steve Mongeau said. Nearly 5,300 U.S. residents younger than 24 took their own lives in 2013, the most recent year for which data are available, according to the Washington, D.C.-based American Association of Suicidology. The latest suicide report by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health indicates that 90 state residents ages 5 to 24 killed themselves in 2012. "We want you, as a person in need, to be able to use the communication platform you feel most comfortable with," Mongeau said, adding that Samaritans is the first suicide prevention organization in Massachusetts to offer the texting option. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has offered text help for suicidal veterans for several years. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline also offers text messaging help at many of its more than 160 crisis centers nationwide. That organization found that nearly 40 percent of people reaching out for help using its online chat option indicated they would not feel comfortable seeking help by phone. Young people may not be able to articulate their feelings in a phone conversation, said Dr. Jill Harkavy-Friedman, vice president of research at the America Foundation for Suicide Prevention, yet their emotions became crystal clear in a text conversation. "What we found is that parents would look at their children's phones after a suicide and see all the distress their children were experiencing," she said. The same Samaritans telephone number often seen posted near bridges — 877-870-4673 — can be used for text messages, Mongeau said. People texting the organization are connected with a volunteer trained in the use of text messaging, and familiar with the grammatical quirks, abbreviations and emoticons used in text messaging. In fact, most of the organization's volunteers are under 30, with some as young as 16, and are already well-versed in text messaging, Mongeau said. Text messages are also more private, he notes. "Say you're in a public place, or on a school bus, you can text back and forth without being overheard," he said. The Samaritans texting service is so far available daily only from 3 p.m. until 11 p.m., the period after school when young people tend to have more time on their hands, Mongeau said. But the goal is to make the program available 24/7. And of course, anyone who wants to can text, regardless of age. A few people have already taken advantage of the texting option, Mongeau said, even though the organization is still trying to get the word out. Eventually he expects to engage in as many 300 text conversations per day, or about the same as the number of phone calls the organization receives daily. "People just want someone to confide
in without judgment," he said. Editor's
note: See Crisis Text Line (741741) for a national
service established in 2013 that has processed over
32,000,000 texts as of March 13,
2017. Crisis
Text Line Brings Help to Troubled Teens Where They Live
— Their Phones “I want to die or run away. I can't take my family.” An incoming text message that a volunteer mental health counselor at Crisis Text Line responds to during a typical shift might look like this. Between August 2013, when the free, nonprofit text-messaging-based counseling service launched, and July 12, counselors have exchanged more than 19.8 million messages with people nationwide struggling with depression, bullying, eating disorders, sexual abuse, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and other crises. Seventy percent of those texting in are teens and young adults, ages 13 to 25, according to the organization — and that number could grow as educators become more aware of the service and the possibilities it holds, especially for cash-strapped schools struggling to keep guidance counselors and social workers on the payroll. (A recent 74 investigation found that four of the top 10 school districts in the country currently employ more security officers than counselors) It’s simple enough to use the service — just text “Start” to 741-741, and a live, trained counselor, perhaps located thousands of miles away, responds within a few minutes. Robert Nikc, an assistant principal at Intermediate School 145 in Queens, said a text counseling service like Crisis Text Line could be a tremendous resource for his students, who are more prone to vent about a problem via a text or social media post than they are to initiate a conversation in person. “(Texting) is something that they are very comfortable using and they don’t have concerns, if you will, about disclosing personal information over that forum to their friends,” Nikc said. Nikc said he recently learned about the service and plans to present it to his administrative team, which could consider offering it as a resource to students and their families. The school has nearly 2,000 students in grades six to eight and five full-time school counselors — or one for every 400 students. (The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of one counselor for every 250 students.) That a text message conversation is readily available during the hours when teachers, counselors and deans are not (nights are high-volume times for Crisis Text Line) makes the service more appealing, Nikc said, although he cautioned it shouldn’t be considered a replacement for one-on-one conversation with an adult. Starting this year, Crisis Text Line is embarking on a partnership with the popular teen messaging app After School, which has millions of users at more than 20,000 high schools around the country. The app is designed to be inaccessible to the prying eyes of adults — students can post anonymously and they sign up for a school-specific newsfeed by verifying their identity and their school via their Facebook account. If students post specific words or phrases that alert After School’s human moderators to a potential crisis, the app will send a message asking if the user would like to speak confidentially with a Crisis Text Line counselor. In other cases, threats are flagged by a moderator or the app’s automatic language detection filters, triggering After School to contact local authorities to intervene. Since the app began offering a counseling service in April 2015, more than 60,000 students have used it, a spokesman said. (The app first partnered with a different service, Instawell, from April to December last year and switched to Crisis Text Line in early 2016.) Text-based services that cater to children and teens (and their parents) are nothing new. A school in Los Angeles, for one, sends texts to parents with updates on students’ assignments, which boosted homework completion rates by 25 percent, according to The Hechinger Report. Researchers at the University of Virginia found that when high school seniors were sent text reminders to finish financial aid forms, they were more likely to enroll in a two-year college than those not sent text messages. But the idea that an app or a text service could end up as the first line of defense for kids who may be at risk for suicide or depression? That has yet to fully catch on with parents and educators. Executives at both organizations believe that by working together they can speed up that process and improve outreach to youth in crisis and prevent tragedies. “We know that teenagers don’t want to go talk to their parents, or they don’t want to go to the school counselor and watch everyone watch them walk into the office, so where teens feel most comfortable is on their phones,” said Cory Levy, After School’s co-founder and chief operating officer. And they will pour their hearts out in 140 characters or less — the per message limit set by Crisis Text — in conversations the service says last 45 minutes to an hour on average. The texter in crisis is using a phone but the counselor is on a computer that allows quick access to helpful information or referrals. The goal is for the counselor to provide a temporary intervention, guiding the texter from what the organization calls a “hot” moment to a “cool calm” using active listening. Most conversations end with a referral to other services, said Crisis Text Line’s Director of Communications Liz Eddy. In order to become counselors, volunteers must be 18 years old, complete 34 hours of training, undergo a background check and make it through the interview process. The organization has about 1,500 counselors. Eventually the organization plans to create an online referral database of mental health services, shelters and counseling centers that can be regularly updated, Eddy said. Crisis Text Line is preparing to make a trove of data available to approved researchers in an effort to better inform public policy and improve mental health care services. (The organization has headquarters in New York City and was founded by Nancy Lublin, who previously spent 12 years as the chief executive of DoSomething.org.) Among the data that is publicly available on its site right now: — States where texters most often seek help for “school problems,” a category used by Crisis Text Line, are South Carolina, Virginia, Illinois and Connecticut. — Vermont, South Dakota and Mississippi are the top three states for messages exchanged about “bullying.” (This data includes all texters, not just young adults). — LGBT issues are more prevalent among all texters in Alaska, Oklahoma and Nebraska. At After School, Levy, 24, and his co-founder, CEO Michael Callahan, 33, hope to draw from that data pool and serve a greater purpose in schools. Their app launched a beta version in 2014 and was quickly downloaded by students at thousands of high schools across the U.S. Just as quickly, it seemed, the app became a magnet for bullying, harassment and even threats of violent attacks at schools, despite its stated intention to be a safe space for positive messaging between teens. It was temporarily removed from the Apple store because of inappropriate content. The updated version of the app — once again available for download in the Apple store — includes new security features designed to protect its young users. The emergency notification system is part of that, along with 24/7 moderators and enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy toward cyberbullying and threats, the app-makers say. Levy said they ultimately want to use the data to advise state and local education policymakers about how students in a particular region or district are faring mentally and emotionally To that end, they’ve talked with educators and administrators in cities like Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. “If we know that in Colorado, we get a lot more requests (for the counseling service) than we do in Texas, then maybe we should go talk to the Board of Education in Colorado and tell them that ‘Hey, we’re seeing a problem in your state,’” he said. Maria Tavella, a middle school counselor at I.S. 141, “The Steinway” school in Queens, said she tacked the 741-741 number to her bulletin board at the beginning of the year and is now going from class to class to explain how Crisis Text Line works. The school has 1,200 students in sixth to eighth grade and only two counselors, she said. Tavella said she often encounters students who have plenty of friends but tell her it’s not always safe or reliable to confide in them. The anonymous nature of the service and the understanding that a trained adult is on the other side of the iPhone makes it attractive, she believes. “Come a weekend, if they can’t reach out to their friends, if they can’t tell their parents about something, it’s nice to know, ‘OK, here’s something else I can trust, here’s someone else I can go to.’” If you or someone you know needs help,
use the Crisis Text Line, 741741 or call the National
Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. In the world’s hub of
innovation, crisis support catches up with the times Caltrain will be adding signage and information to stations urging people to text 741741 for crisis support. Sally Longyear, a Palo Alto parent whose daughter, Sarah Longyear, died by suicide at Caltrain in April, supports Crisis Text Line. “If my daughter had known about Crisis Text Line she might be here today,” said Sally Longyear. “If just one life is saved by adding these signs, it will be worth it.” In 2013, serial social entrepreneur Nancy Lublin founded Crisis Text Line. Since then, they’ve exchanged over 26 million messages with people in crisis, creating the largest real-time mental health data set. The organization has garnered support from tech giants like Reid Hoffman, Steve Ballmer, Melinda Gates, and the Omidyar Network. BAY AREA DATA To date, Crisis Text Line has already handled over 25,000 conversations with people in crisis in the Bay Area. Our Bay Area data shows 75% of texters are under 25 years old, and “school” is the #1 location mentioned by suicidal texters. “Mental health stigma continues to be a barrier for individuals and families to seek needed care. As we all know, millions of people use social media, and text message can be a private, accessible way to receive support,” said Barbara Garcia, Director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “Crisis Text Line will improve access to care in times of extreme stress and also help identify trends to enrich our understanding of the population that uses this new intervention.” BAY AREA PARTNERS Many beloved San Francisco icons are banding together in support of Crisis Text Line’s Bay Area launch. The San Francisco Giants will raise awareness with their fans throughout the 2017 season for Crisis Text Line both in park and through their large social media following to ensure that all fans know where to turn in crisis: 741741. Bay Area based Peet’s Coffee will promote the number in local Peet’s locations and provide free coffee for Crisis Counselor volunteers. Crisis Text Line Bay Area partners include:
These partners are in addition to Crisis Text Line’s national corporate partners based in the Bay Area, including YouTube, Facebook, After School, Twilio, and Speck Products. BAY AREA FUNDING Crisis Text Line’s Bay Area efforts are supported by a grant from The Battery’s philanthropic branch, Battery Powered. “Crisis Text Line is a fast-moving, innovative organization that is disrupting the mental health sector,” said Michael Birch, Founder of The Battery. “We were blown away by their data and how it can inform Bay Area policy, parents and schools.” Crisis Text Line has hired Palo Alto native Libby Craig to lead these efforts. Craig attended Gunn High School during its first suicide cluster in 2009. “I’m honored to grow Crisis Text Line in my home town, where I saw peers die by suicide,” said Craig. “We all know 911 for crime and emergency. I’m hoping 741741 will be known across the Bay Area for mental health crises.” GET INVOLVED
About Crisis Text Line Crisis Text Line is free, 24/7, confidential crisis support via text. Learn more at crisistextline.org What Bay Area leaders are saying: “Caltrain highly supports suicide prevention and mental health initiatives in this community.” said Tasha Bartholomew, Caltrain Communications Officer. “We believe working with Crisis Text Line will be instrumental in reaching more people in crisis who might be more comfortable using text message.” Source: www.crisistextline.org/media/baypress/
Sleep. We all need it. Studies have shown a close link between our mental health and sleep. So, no surprise, sleep comes up a ton in conversations with our texters. But did you know that 36% of conversations mention sleep?! Let’s take a peek at data on sleep;: Conversations that mention sleep are… 50% more likely to include talk of depression Nancy’s personal fav coping skill for texter’s with sleep trouble: “How about downloading the book War and Peace? That is one boring book! A few pages and zzzz. Plus, your teachers might be impressed.” ? True story. She has used this line about a dozen times. *Sleep defined as any mention of sleep, sleeping, sleeps, tired, dream(s), bed(s), nap(s), drowsy, lethargic, rest, shuteye, catnap, slept II. Heroes Maggie Van de Loo has been a volunteer Crisis Counselor for TWO years (whoa!!!). She’s even spoken about Crisis Text Line with YouTube star Kati Morton. How did you hear about Crisis Text Line? I read the New Yorker Article about Crisis Text Line while on a coffee break at my job in mental health research in February of 2015. I went home and applied to be a Crisis Counselor that night! What is your favorite thing about being a Crisis Counselor? I have two favorite things about being a Crisis Counselor: 1. Because I currently work in mental health research, I am in touch with a lot of people struggling with many different kinds of problems on a daily basis. At work, I spend a lot more time asking people how they are feeling and analyzing big trends, rather than working one on one with anyone. Being a Crisis Counselor is the perfect complement for me. I can actively support people in crisis while also doing the research I love full time. What is the best thing you have learned as a Crisis Counselor? I think the most valuable thing I have learned from being a Crisis Counselor is how to listen. As someone with a strong academic psychology background, it can be easy to jump into advice mode, without really allowing the other person to be heard. The training on active, empathic listening and reflecting a texter's experience back to them with compassion was something I have found to be invaluable not only while working with texters but also as a friend, coworker and partner. III. Org News A. We’re hiring! Apply now to become our new full time Marketing Manager, Head of Product or Senior Software Engineer. B. In the press. Teen Vogue explores viewer’s response to Netflix series 13 Reasons Why using Crisis Text Line data. Check it out here. C. Meet our team! Crisis Text Line staff is often out talking about data, tech and all things mental health. 5/30: Founding Supervisor, Jen James, is on Facebook Live with the Mighty. Join in at 5pm ET on The Mighty Mental Health Facebook page. 6/2: West Coast Director, Libby Craig, will be speaking at Sequoia High School District in California for their Parent Education Mini-Series. Check out the details here. 6/3: Director of Communications, Liz Eddy, will be on a panel about rape culture after the screening of The Light of the Moon at the Greenwich Film Festival in CT. Tickets here. 6/14: Director of Communications, Liz Eddy and Crisis Counselor Coach, Tessa Shapiro, present during The Collaborative in Boston (and hopefully win a Classy Award on the 15th!). Learn more here. 6/23: Founding Supervisor, Jen James, will be speaking at the BlogHer conference in Orlando. Learn more about the conference here. D. Partnerships! We just launched a partnership with California Community Colleges! Now, Crisis Text Line will be shared with over 2.1 million students across 113 campuses. Think you might be a good potential partner? Email Liz: liz@crisistextline.org E. Random Question. Know someone powerful at Staples or Kinkos? We’re looking for a partner who can offer you free printing of our training materials. (Great perk, right?) Email elif@crisistextline.org if you’ve got a connection! Bob Filbin I. Ask Bob 2/24/17 Next week, our partners at NEDA are leading National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Our data team took a look at some of the trends we see around eating disorders: Texters who mention eating disorders also tend to talk about (in order of relevance):
Nationally, talk about eating disorders peaks on Tuesdays and Sundays 8PM - 10PM On a state level, texters in AR, NJ, and ME mention eating disorders at the highest rates III. Org News C. Some big partnerships! We’ve recently partnered with AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention). AFSP will be using Crisis Text Line as their preferred crisis text service, promoting it through both digital and on the ground events. Are you a part of a school system, city/state government or national organization? Are you a content creator or part of a media outlet? Partner with us! Email Liz: liz@crisistextline.org
I. Ask Bob - 1/27/17 Have a data question? Email our Chief Data Scientist: bob@crisistextline.org 77% of our texters are under the age of 25. What do we know about them? Demographics
Impact
II. Heroes Scott Wentworth is a Crisis Counselor and a Youth Advisory Council member. How did you learn about Crisis Text Line? I found out about Crisis Text Line during my first year in college about three years ago. I had a lot going on in my life at the time, and I was in a rather dark place. I searched online for something and found Crisis Text Line. When I later found out they were accepting applications for volunteers, I applied, and here I am. What is your favorite thing about being a Crisis Counselor? Things like suicide and mental illness have had an immense, and profound affect on my life and the lives of those around me. My favorite thing about being a Crisis Counselor is having the ability to help people in their darkest moments. What is the best thing you've learned as a Crisis Counselor? Simply listening can really help. I now see that many people just want somebody to listen, instead of giving advice. III. Org News Follow us! We’re using six social media platforms for news, updates, and insights:
C. Some big partnerships! Keyword Partners. We’ve recently partnered with the Mayor's Office in Los Angeles, PennState University, and Lookout Mountain Community Services in Georgia. Content Partners. We’ve launched content partnerships with The Mighty, Thrive Global, and SoulPancake, helping them to better support their communities. Are you a part of a school system, city/state government or national organization? Are you a content creator or part of a media outlet? Partner with us! Email Liz: liz@crisistextline.org D. Crisis Trends V2. Crisis Trends V2
is live! This version allows you to view (on your phone!)
the location, day of week, time of day, accompanying issues,
and words most associated with specific issues, by state.
Whoa! Check it out at CrisisTrends.org
I. Ask Bob. 11/25/16 One in six of our texters (17%) is of college age. Some more scoop: Demographics Gender. 73% identify as female, 17% as male, 10% other. Sexual orientation. 55% identify as heterosexual, 20% as bi-sexual, 7% gay or lesbian, 18% other. Race. 71% identify as White, 15% as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin, 11% identify as Black or African American, 6% Asian, 4% American Indian. Issues Here are the top issues texters in college face, according to the % of conversations in which the issue is mentioned:
Volume Day of Week. Volume for texters mentioning college peaks on Monday, and tails off over the week. Time of Day. The peak time of day for conversations is night time, 9pm - 2am. III. Org News A. Post Election. The entire country was feeling a lot of feels. We saw a 4x increase in volume in the days following the election. The words “election” and “scared” were the top two things being mentioned by texters. The most common association with “scared” was “LGBTQ.” How did we handle it? We rallied! Our community of trained volunteer Crisis Counselors are incredible. Despite the increase in volume, we actually saw a 2 percentage point increase in satisfaction ratings (a whopping 88% of texters said that connecting with us was helpful.) And, we actually saw a 3 percentage point increase in speed. We were able to help 91% of texters in under 5 five minutes--including “high severity” texters connecting with a human in an average 39 seconds.
I. Ask Bob. 7/29/16 Have a data question? Email our Chief Data Scientist: bob@crisistextline.org On July 15th, Crisis Text Line passed 20 million messages exchanged with texters in crisis. That’s less than three years since our launch. AMAZING. What else do we know about these 20 million messages??? Top 5 Issues: Depression: 25% of conversations Active Rescues: 3,171 % Texters by Time of Day (EST): 12am - 04am: 22% (Almost 1/4 of our
texters are in crisis late night!) What was our 20 millionth message? “Hello” (no period). From a first time texter. In the office, on July 15th, it was our version of a New Year’s countdown: 3:39p - So close II. Heroes Nancy Denburg is a Crisis Counselor on
Thursday nights. Nancy shared her experience as a 78 year
old Crisis Counselor with CNN
"How could I, at 77, begin to understand the psyche of teenagers and younger people? I felt that [Crisis Text Line] probably would not be interested in someone as old as me," said Denburg. "Then, I had this epiphany: They don't really know how old I am." III. Org News Wow, 3! We’re turning 3 on Monday!
(8/1/16) For our birthday, we’re asking our friends to
celebrate by recruiting 3 friends. Our volunteers provide
free, 24/7 crisis support--- all from their couch! Apply
here!
The Crisis Text Line Blog There’s so much happening here.
So, we
launched a blog! More new hires! Elizabeth Sweezey Morrell, Crisis
Counselor Advocate Interested in applying or know someone
who might be? Learn more and apply here.
Bob Filbin Random fact about me: I went to Harry
Potter World at Universal Studios, Florida last weekend.
Highlights include drinking butterbeer, eating strawberry
peanut butter ice cream (a Harry Potter speciality), and
riding 17 rides in 10 hours. Here’s when my sugar craze
reached it’s peak and me loitering outside Zonkos Joke
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