Get Help: Call or Text 988

Privacy Policy

Lines for Life Online Emotional Support Disclaimer & Privacy Policy

If you are in danger or need emergency help, call 911 or your local authorities.

Scope of Service

We provide online emotional support via text and web-based chat (“online emotional support”) for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and our YouthLine.

Before using online emotional support please read the following. By accessing or using, you agree to the terms of service and privacy policy described below. You may contact us by e-mail at [email protected] with any questions about these terms. If you don’t agree to the terms, you may choose not to use Lines for Life’s online emotional support. You can find a list of other hotlines at http://psychcentral.com/lib/common-hotline-phone-numbers/

Privacy and Security

We take your privacy and security very seriously and employ reasonable security controls (including encryption) to help protect your information. Despite these protections, SMS remains an imperfectly secure environment. Lines for Life cannot guarantee complete protection from intruders or interceptors. You agree to use Lines for Life’s online emotional support and submit information at your own risk, and you agree that Lines for Life has no liability regarding anyone’s unauthorized access to online emotional support or the data associated with it.

Introduction; Scope

At Lines for Life (“online emotional support,” “We,” “Us”), our goal is to help people in crisis. We’re here to try to help you out of crisis, which means to go from an emotionally elevated “hot” moment to a deescalated “cool” moment and we try to help equip you with the tools necessary to do this yourself if you face a crisis in the future. We also want you to feel safe when you text or chat online with us.

To make sure we’re doing everything we can to secure your information, we communicate our privacy and security guidelines to our employees and Crisis Intervention Specialists. This privacy policy describes what information we collect when you use online emotional support, and explains how we use, transfer and store your information after we collect it. This policy will inform you if and to whom we disclose any of that information, and what choices you have in how we use that information. So before using online emotional support, please read the following.

Your Consent and Changes in Privacy Policy

By using online emotional support, you agree to the practices outlined in this privacy policy. Lines for Life may change this privacy policy from time to time, so please consult it regularly for any such changes. Any changes will be effective immediately upon our posting them to our website at linesforlife.org. Your use of online emotional support after any such changes have been posted shall constitute your acceptance of the revised privacy policy and terms.

 

Personally Identifiable Information

Collection and Use of Personally Identifiable Information

Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”) is data that can be used to uniquely identify you, such as your full name or home address. During your use of online emotional support, you may be asked (but never required) to voluntarily provide PII.  We will ONLY ask for this if we believe it would help us to better serve you.

While we may collect PII, we will not sell or license to any third party any PII we receive from you, and will not share it with any third parties except as noted below.

Lines for Life uses the information it collects about you to, among other things, improve online emotional support, contact you, provide anonymous reporting internally, and fulfill your requests, including but not limited to referrals to other services. In other words, we collect information so we can provide you and others like you with a better service.

Examples of PII We Collect

We do not collect any PII from you other than the phone number you text us from and that which you voluntarily provide to us. Some of the types of PII that we may request include:

  • When you contact Lines for Life, we may request information including your name, age, and zip code.
  • When you contact Lines for Life about a friend, family member, or other person in need of our services, we may request the information you provide about those people such as name and zip code.
  • In situations where you or someone else is in danger or in need of emergency help, we may request your current location, or the current location of the person in danger.

How We Use PII

  • We may also use PII for internal purposes such as auditing, data analysis, and research to improve Lines for Life services.
  • We may also use your information to help us personalize your experience with us and to operate, maintain and improve the features and functionality of our service.

Disclosure to Third Parties, Police, and Emergency Medical Services

At times we may make certain PII available to strategic partners that work with us or as required by law. It’s our goal to support you in staying safe and healthy and to do so in the least invasive way possible.If a Crisis Intervention Specialist identifies that you or someone else is at imminent risk of harm (meaning you have the desire, plan, and means) or suspects abuse or neglect, they let you know they’re concerned about your safety. At this point, they might ask you where you are or what your name is. They’ll continue to work to support you, and if they feel like you might not be able to keep yourself safe, they may contact local police or Emergency Medical Services (“EMS”).

For youth under the age of 18, we may also contact a parent or guardian either at your request or if you are at imminent risk and we can reach a trusted adult instead of EMS. (Note: the definition of imminent risk is different for those age 13 and under. We’re here to do our best to support you in staying healthy and safe.)

Crisis Intervention Specialists

We operate online emotional support in conjunction with qualified volunteer and staff Crisis Intervention Specialists (“Crisis Intervention Specialists,” “CIS”). Any information, including PII, that you share with Lines for Life support may be viewed by online emotional support staff or Crisis Intervention Specialists for quality control and to better assist you with your crisis.

If you provide feedback through an anonymous feedback survey, that feedback may also be shared with Lines for Life Staff and Crisis Intervention Specialists.

Outside Referrals

Sometimes, we may refer you to another hotline or program. We will give you their contact information but we will not give them your contact information. So, it’s up to you if you want to use the referral. If you would like to receive support from other services, please note that different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of PII. We do not control the privacy policies of others. We encourage you to ask questions before you disclose your PII to others.

Other Third Parties; Legal Processes

In certain narrow circumstances, we may disclose PII we collect from you to additional third parties to the extent necessary to:

    1. To comply with the law or in response to a subpoena, court order, government request, or other legal process;
    2. To protect the interests, rights, safety, or property of Lines for Life, its affiliates, employees, or agents, including but not limited to Crisis Intervention Specialists;
    3. To enforce this privacy policy or terms;
    4. In connection with a merger, acquisition, liquidation, or corporate divestiture of Lines for Life or its affiliates, or
    5. To address fraud, security, technical issues, or to operate Lines for Life or its infrastructure systems properly.

How We Protect Your Personally Identifiable Information

Lines for Life cares about you and the security of your PII. We take reasonable precautions, including administrative, technical, and physical measures, to protect your PII from loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. We store all information on secure servers only accessible by approved Lines for Life employees and third parties pursuant to the practices described above.

You Should Also Protect Yourself

Always be careful and responsible regarding your PII. We are not responsible for, and cannot control, what others not affiliated with Lines for Life do with information you provide to them. Consider deleting conversations, clearing chat history, and removing Lines for Life from your contacts if desired.

 

Protected Health Information (PHI) and HIPAA

Collection, Use, and Disclosure of Protected Health Information

Lines for Life is a Business Associate under HIPAA, not a Covered Entity. We handle Protected Health Information (“PHI”) on behalf of Covered Entities (e.g., hospitals, health providers) and comply with HIPAA as required under our Business Associate Agreements.

PHI includes any information that identifies you and relates to your health, health care, or crisis support.

As a Business Associate, we may:

  • Collect, use, and store PHI only as necessary to provide services for Covered Entities or as required by law
  • Share PHI internally with Crisis Intervention Specialists for quality control and support
  • Disclose PHI to emergency services (police, EMS, or guardians for minors) if there is imminent risk of harm
  • Disclose PHI to a subcontractor that creates, receives, maintains, or transmits PHI on our behalf, provided we have a Business Associate Agreement in place ensuring appropriate safeguards

We do not independently provide Covered Entity HIPAA rights to individuals. Requests to access, amend, or restrict PHI must be made through the Covered Entity, and we will cooperate to support those rights.

Emergency Disclosures

If a Crisis Intervention Specialists believes you or someone else is at imminent risk of harm or suspects abuse/neglect, we may disclose PHI as necessary to protect health or safety.

For youth under the age of 18, we may also contact a parent or guardian either at your request or if you are at imminent risk and we can reach a trusted adult instead of EMS. (Note: the definition of imminent risk is different for those age 13 and under.)

Legal or Required Disclosures of PHI

In addition to emergency disclosures, we may disclose PHI in the following circumstances, consistent with our Business Associate Agreement and HIPAA:

    1. To comply with a subpoena, court order, or other legal process
    2. To report suspected abuse, neglect, or domestic violence as required by law
    3. To protect the rights, property, or safety of Lines for Life, its staff, or others, as permitted by law.

How We Keep Your Protected Health Information Secure

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards in compliance with HIPAA to protect PHI from loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.

Questions or Complaints about PHI

Questions about HIPAA rights or PHI should be directed to the Covered Entity providing services. Lines for Life will cooperate with covered entities to support requests regarding phi.

 

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about our privacy policy or the privacy practices described here, please contact: [email protected].