Missed the Webinar? "WIC Texting: Reaching GenY Moms on their Mobile Phones"

We've received several requests for another webinar on Texting and WIC moms.  The service provides secure texting for WIC agencies and is now used in several states for educational texts and two-way conversational texting.  Pre-register now by going here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/2726525326567937026

Participants will learn how texting is being used by WICs to promote breastfeeding education among GenY moms
They will also learn how WICs are communicating with their caseload using 2-way conversational texting
They will also learn new innovative strategies being used by WICs to reschedule missed appts

The WIC Text Program also supports best practice appointment reminders and compliance (upload your excel, WIX, ISIS, WRI, txt, csv) select the message and the system handles the rest! Most importantly, you'll be able to track the reminders to confirm all phones received the message!  And completely unique to PreventionPays, you'll see responses to the reminders appear in the text inbox. So, if mom needs to reschedule you can do so in a quick text dialogue!)

Additionally, you can promote the secure number (a fully provisioned short code that guarantees coverage across all mobile carriers in the US) in your community to encourage WIC eligible moms to text for more information. Set up automated messages to provide links to online enrollment!  Texting is helping WICs increase enrollments and maintain caseload retention by educating moms about changes in the benefits so that they use the service for the entire period of eligibility!

WICs using the text program are reporting remarkable results:

96% of participants respond favorably to getting their education through text
98% of participants respond to direct messages from WIC staff
95% of participants choose to breastfeed after receiving education

"We started using the text program to follow up with missed appointments. The response has been tremendous. This has been a game changer for us." WIC Director, CA

Text hotline in Minnesota is About to Go Viral

“This is really good news for the state,” commented David Lee, who testified before the Senate Finance Committee on behalf of the bill.

Lee said thanks to the newly approved state funding, the program will now be expanded to reach students in high schools, colleges and universities throughout Minnesota by adding regional coordinators, trained text responders and additional support staff. He added the National Guard is also interested in possibly making the program available to its military and civilian population, particularly in the 18- to 24-year-old age bracket, since suicide is a problem in their ranks as well.

“Right now, we are still in the midst of talks with them,” said Lee, but he said the relationship would be a logical extension of the up-and-coming program.

Lee said the rapid success of the TXT4Life program in Minnesota is already the envy of other states that have spent several years trying to get similar programs established. He said he owes the success of the recent state legislation to the outstanding coalition supporting it, including the Minnesota School Counselors Association, mental health centers throughout the state, faith communities, non-profit organizations and the state-wide tribal association. He said State Senator Tony Lourey helped co-author the bill and added that District 11A Representative Mike Sundin was instrumental in securing bipartisan support for it.

“This is one of the biggest expansions of suicide prevention funding anywhere,” he commented.  Essentially, the program picks up where suicide crisis phone lines leave off — meeting young people right where they’re at when it comes to today’s electronic communication. The reasoning is simple — teens who would never consider calling the existing suicide crisis line to speak to someone in person are far more likely to seek help via the comparative ease and anonymity of text messaging. When they text in, they are linked to a trained support person who helps talk them through that critical 10-minute window considered to be vital in saving lives and providing needed support.

The TXT4Life program was initially spearheaded by Carlton County Health and Human Services and piloted in the seven-county area of northeastern Minnesota. It was funded through a $1.4 million federal grant secured in August 2011. Since that time, Lee said it has been expanding rapidly. He reported that an average of the some 300-350 texts a month have been received from teens either considering suicide or having a hard time dealing with other relationship or family issues. Over 800 referrals have been made for mental health or non-mental health services over the course of the past year through the TXT4Life program, and that number is growing.

Although the initial emphasis of the program has been focused in northeast Minnesota, Lee said word of it has spread through social media and the line has received texts from youth and young adults in 48 of Minnesota’s 87 counties.

Commissioners congratulated Lee on the success of the statewide initiative and thanked him for the role he played in it, along with that of Representative Sundin, who was also in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting.

Check them out here:  http://txt4life.org/

Boys Town National Hotline Launches Text Hotline

We are very pleased to announce that Boys Town Hotline will launch their national text hotline in January and the PreventionPays platform was chosen (over all other services and providers) as the platform through which they will launch the new resource!   

Make sure you visit the Boys Town Website here!  

The resource will function as a youth helpline in which youth and their parents and/or caregivers can text/chat with a trained counselor about their crisis and get info about resources and help in their community that assist youth in crisis. Live assistance will be provided by helpline counselors (specially trained in youth-focused help) from computer workstations at Boys Town Hotline in Boys Town, Nebraska, USA.  Information such as where to go if they are being abused or if they need emergency food, clothing or shelter will be communicated to youth in need.

 The Boys Town text hotline is a community service and will be available to all US residents.  The service will be promoted through Boys Town's robust network of affilate agencies, partners and stakeholders with PSAs, signage and handouts (flyers, brochures) through charities that are youth-focused, e.g Boys and Girls Club, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, YMCAs, hostels and youth shelters, youth crisis lines and helplines, and public spaces including libraries, hospitals, and schools.  In part, this service is being developed to increase access to public resources among rural populations and disadvantaged youth that may not have access to a computer or the Internet. 

The text helpline will augment Boys Town's standard phone-based helpline services that have been operational for the past 50 years. 

Text Hotline Makes "Talking" About Complex Emotional Issues Easier

Many crisis centers, hotlines and help lines are finding that people of all ages, demographics are reaching out by text to ask for help.  And several agencies are now providing text hotline services in an effort to take advantage of this social dynamic.  Their logic is simple.  Increase access to their services through an innovative web-based service, PreventionPays Text, and grow your user-base by that same number.

Every hotline/helpline that has added texting has seen an instant boost in their traffic.  And now there's a tremendous amount of data that shows quantitatively and qualitatively that teens prefer using texting to talk about their issues.  The preference is strong.  Early adopters tried to convert text conversations to voice calls which turned out to be ineffective.  In fact, in most cases, when asked to move to a call, the texter would refuse, or worse, opt out. Hotline staff realized the mere suggestion would result in premature termination of the encounter. 

New research supports this.  Studies on text out of Michigan and UC Berkeley report that text is preferred when individuals are required to talk about emotional issues or reflect on their personal health.

PreventionPays Text was evaluated during a 3-year SAMHSA GLS Grant. "Someone To Listen: Help-Seeking Behavior Through a Text-Based Crisis Line for Youth" Dr. William Evans, researcher at University of Nevada, Reno and Research Assistants Laura Davidson and Lorie Sicafuse used a multi-method evaluation to assess the efficacy and use rates of the youth text hotline, which is fully operational today and receiving statewide texts in Nevada as well as national texts from youth and young adults who have found their text line through the Internet. 

The research team used program data on use rates and feedback from middle school and high school students in focus groups. The team also conducted focus groups with Crisis Call Center's staff regarding their personal experiences using text instead of the standard model, telephone voice call.  This research is published in the "Journal of Community Psychology" and included as a link on this post.

Today, the collection of hotlines/helplines using PreventionPays text for crisis support have logged well over 1 million text encounters since the service officially launched in 2010, a staggering statistic when considering the nature of the conversations. They are contacting the hotlines because they are in crisis. Many of the youth reaching out through text are facing very serious issues like bullying, self-harm, eating disorders, abuse, domestic violence, and thoughts of suicide.  They are using the text hotlines as a lifeline. While it may be difficult for some to imagine suicide prevention is happening in 160 characters or less, those who use the service, the hundreds of teens and young adults texting these hotlines every day, couldn't imagine it any other way.

If you are in crisis and need help, you can text ANSWER to 839863

A new resource https://www.yourlifeyourvoice.org/Pages/home.aspx that came out of a partnership from the award-winning film BULLY, is also providing text help to teens.

Text VOICE to 20121 to find help now 

(Boys Town hotline provides 24/7 hotline support to youth in crisis and those that love them. All help offered through their website is confidential and free)

Colorado WIC Deploys WIC Text Program with Low Income Moms

Colorado WIC will test the effectiveness of the WIC text program with one of their regional WIC offices in Pueblo Colorado.  They plan to use the program to provide breastfeeding education and two-way Peer Support as many other WIC are now doing nationwide.  However, they have also stated that they plan to use the system in their outreach efforts as a way to attract more residents to their program. They feel young Gen-Y moms will feel more confident reaching out and asking questions about WIC through the sms channel.  It's a medium they already use on a daily basis with friends and family.  State officials are following the same logic behind recent research (that has shown texting to be a useful tool in eliminating barriers and eliciting more candid responses from participants); at year's end, they will determine whether this is a method they want to deploy statewide as a way to increase awareness and participation among all target groups. 

Moms and families in Pueblo CO will be able to text their local WIC office and engage in a secure texting conversation with the hopes that this will help shift their perception about WIC and make these terrific services more accessible to those who need them the most. 

In fact, this is precisely why we built the text platform. Projects like Pueblo are representative of how public health is pushing the limits of sms to make their texting more meaningful to their constituents. 

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