Live Chat for Information &

Referral

Shye Louis, 2-1-1/LIFE LINE, Rochester NY

Fran Spadafora Manzella, 2-1-1 Tompkins, Ithaca NY

Jill Wolski Ordonez, United Way 2-1-1 and Crisis Hotline, Albany NY

Questions:

How many centers in the room already offer chat?

How many would like to offer chat?What other services would you like to

offer online?What are your concerns about moving

I&R services online? What prevents you from moving in this direction?

Overview:

1. Learn about our Chat Services2. Operational Considerations for

Implementing Chat

Chat at our Centers

1. Rochester – 2-1-1/LIFE LINE Chat and Veterans Chat Back-Up

2. Albany – Crisis Chat3. Ithaca – 2-1-1 Chat

Communication is migrating from voice to other channels The average U.S. mobile

phone subscriber now sends and receives more text messages than voice calls.

-Nielson Mobile, September 2008http://www.bizreport.com/2008/09/nielsen_mobile_texting_vs_talking.html

• Instant Messaging is wildly popular, disproportionately so for younger age groups.

• 14.2 billion messages per month (2006)

Why add Live Chat?

Are we in the “Phone” business ?

Or are we in the “Helping” business?

Chat Keeps I&R in the Helping Business:

Accessibility to inquirers is a core principle of I&R Inquirers who are

deaf/hearing impaired Inquirers who have

speech impairment Inquirers who prefer the

medium to telephone Inquirers who do not

have access to a phone but do have access to internet

Enhancement to public searching your website

Common areas of concern about Chat:Can text adequately convey the

complexity of human emotion and compassion?

What is my center’s liability?How do we send rescue in emergencies?What technology platform should I use?How much volume will we receive?How do I train staff to provide service

online?How can I ensure I have enough

staff/volunteers to meet demand, without any new funding?

Mitigating Liability

Disclaimers IT Security

Choosing Chat Software

CostOne timeOn-going

SecurityEase of UseEase of Installation and Set-UpDesired features

Choosing Chat Staff

Not all staff are created equal when it comes to chat

In addition to excellent I&R skills chat specialists should demonstrate:the ability to multi-taskhave the ability to work under pressurehave strong written communication skillshave strong typing skillspreferably have previous experience using

IM or other chat services.

Training chat staff

Trained I&R SpecialistsTraining Manual/GuidelinesSoftware TrainingPractice Chats

Differences in Chat Tone of voice/inflections are not present

Increased importance on clear, concise language Discourages use of slang and humor

Need to “read” the communication style of your visitor and respond accordingly Chat segment style

Chat length is generally longer than call length to cover the same material. Need to consider this when staffing chat Takes longer to type than speak Chat culture – inquirers might be multi-tasking while

chatting Expectation for chat staff different in terms of response time

Chat Process

Identical to I&R Process Listen Assess Action Plan Close

Active listening skills such as paraphrasing and reflection of feeling are still critical to having good contact

Opportunity to assist with online database navigation

Operational Decisions

Availability Multiple chats Use of chat slang, abbreviations and

emoticons Canned Responses Information collected from chat visitors Documentation and reporting

considerations Promotion/marketing

Chat Dilemmas

Suicide Emergencies and other emergencies – considerations in sending emergency services

Out of service area/out of country chats Prank chats Opening links sent from chat visitors Contact from “bots” Repeat chat visitors

Supervision and Evaluation of Chat Services

Self-evaluation by chat staff Monitoring of chats in real-time Review transcripts of chats Post-chat feedback survey

2-1-1 Chat Demonstration

www.211fingerlakes.org http://hsctc.org/index.php?page=chat

Crisis Chat

A national chat concept

How “Crisis Chat” started…

Unsolicited E-mails to Crisis Centers

 

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I am so alone. don't know what to do. all I think about is suicide. I don’t want to hurt the people who say they love me (even if I don’t believe them), but why should I bear all this pain or hurt? If I tell my therapist again about these feelings or thoughts, she'll send me to the hospital. I can’t go to the hospital because I only have one week left of college to graduate and I don’t want to ruin that for my parents who think it's important. I don’t want to ruin the holidays for my family by being in the hospital or dead. But I cant stop the thoughts.

I called, but cannot find the courage to speak. I feel pathetic doing this, but I thought calling could only do more good than harm. Unfortunately my shyness will not allow me to talk.

 

CONTACT USA’s VisionOne National Portal

Easy access for the public via universal marketing

Technical Support for Crisis CentersOperational and Training GuidelinesOES Standards and AccreditationAssistance in securing funding

National Conference Share practice learning sessions & support new

OES centers

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How it works: Multi-Service Website Platform

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iCarol ementalhealth.ca

Emotion Technology

How is Crisis Chat Applicable to 2-1-1 Centers?

Blended centers can join on Crisis Chat portal.

Standards, Operations and Training materials can be adapted for online I&R.

Technology platforms can be the same.

Centers that develop either crisis or I&R chat can move to the other one quite easily after implementation of one.

Crisis Chat Demonstrations:

Crisis Chat WebsiteCrisis Chat Service

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Other National Chat Efforts to learn from/collaborate with:

Veterans Crisis Chat Homeless Veterans Chat National Suicide Prevention Lifeline chat

efforts

The Future

What else is already out there/coming soon? Email Texting Integration with social networking Video ???

2-1-1 Online in the Future

Comprehensive Community Info WebsitePublically accessible and intuitive database

on community services. Information on specialized health/issue

areas (mental health, prison re-entry etc).

Direct Services for I&R/CrisisChat, email, texting, social networking,

discussion groups etc.