Despite the documented need for chat and text hotlines for crime victims in accessing supportive services, there is little guidance for the implementation, services, approach, and evaluation of chat/text hotlines. So the current guide provides an overview of chat/text services developed from the authors’ evaluation of a chat/text hotline, SAFEline, in Austin, Texas.
Agencies with and without chat and text services may find this guide helpful in considering program training, quality, and impact assessment. The first section of the guide provides an overview of advocacy models, a glossary of types of violence experiences addressed by services, and practice approaches that guide advocacy. Advocacy is an evidence-based practice provided in many formats to address the impacts of interpersonal violence and prevent future harm. The second section provides an overview of hotline services, the increasing implementation of technology-based services, and a summary of the research activities conducted in the evaluation to develop the materials in this guide. This section includes information about chat/text service use and a detailed breakdown of the five goals that guide chat and text services and accompanying advocacy skills at SAFEline, as developed by the evaluation project. Other sections address strategies and evaluation. 47 references