When SMS Becomes an SOS: Using Texting as a Serious Resource

It should come as no surprise that text messaging is the most common form of communication among American youth today. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 63 percent of teenagers exchange text messages daily, a rate that surpasses phone calls, emails, social network site messaging, instant messaging, and even face-to-face socializing (outside of school).

As cell phones become an extension of the modern teen, we have seen a spike in the number of text hotlines established as an alternative method of providing crisis help. The reason for this is simple: the convenience and accessibility of texting makes it an attractive option for reaching out to younger victim demographics.

Firstly, the texting platform has a unique ability to break down the psychological and physical barriers that prevent people from getting assistance. While making an actual phone call can be daunting (and even dangerous) for a victim, texting provides privacy and anonymity to those who might not otherwise seek help from formal safety resources. Simply put, it is easier to type one’s feelings than to vocalize them to a stranger. This rings especially true when dealing with sensitive subject matter such as sexual assault or abuse, depression, and suicide. Making a phone call might not always be feasible, but a text can be covertly sent by a person who is in physical danger or in the immediate vicinity of family, friends, or teachers who may be able to listen in on a spoken conversation. In addition, texting can eliminate fears over social stigmas associated with many of these issues.

Texting as a crisis help method can also be beneficial for advocates and service providers, allowing them to better communicate and empathize with teen and young adult audiences. Crisis experts contend that people who text crisis lines are in need of the same services as those calling hotlines: risk assessment, emotional validation, and collaborative problem solving. Text messaging allows crisis counselors to provide these services to young adults as efficiently and effectively as possible.

For example, the ability to save text history means that any time a person contacts a hotline following his/her initial dialogue exchange, a counselor can pull up archives and pick up the conversation right where it left off. This personalized interaction strengthens feelings of trust, support, and understanding. At the same time, counselors are able to assist multiple people simultaneously, as well as consult best approaches with fellow colleagues.

How will this impact the future of victims’ services? Nancy Lublin, founder of Crisis Text Line, stresses that texts provide real-time information that can reveal patterns—time, date, and geographical frequencies—for people in crisis. With this knowledge, counselors can better match people with the emergency services and local resources they need. At the legislative level, the aggregate data might even be used to influence public policy related to victims’ rights and victims’ services.

The National Dating Abuse Helpline estimates that its text line, launched in 2011, currently accounts for about 20 percent of operations. As that number continues to grow, integration of mobile technologies will be key to supporting a victim-centric approach in our field. Crisis text lines such as Crisis Text Line, the National Dating Abuse Helpline, and Teen Line (based in Los Angeles and operated by teens) represent a fusion of technology and victims’ services that will allow advocates, providers, and first responders to continue expanding victim reach and better respond to people in crisis.

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The California Victim Compensation Program (CalVCP) provides compensation for victims of violent crime. CalVCP provides eligible victims with reimbursement for many crime-related expenses. CalVCP funding comes from restitution paid by criminal offenders through fines, orders, penalty assessments and federal matching funds.