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I. Ask Bob.

Have a data question? Email our Chief Data Scientist: bob@crisistextline.org

One in six of our texters (17%) is of college age. Some more scoop:

Demographics

  • Gender. 73% identify as female, 17% as male, 10% other.
  • Sexual orientation. 55% identify as heterosexual, 20% as bi-sexual, 7% gay or lesbian, 18% other.
  • Race. 71% identify as White, 15% as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin, 11% identify as Black or African American, 6% Asian, 4% American Indian.

Issues
Here are the top issues texters in college face, according to the % of conversations in which the issue is mentioned:

  • Depression: 39%
  • Anxiety: 38%
  • Suicidal Ideation: 24%
  • Family Issues: 24%
  • Romantic Relationships: 17%
  • Isolation: 12%
  • Friend Issues: 11%
  • Self Harm: 11%
Volume
  • Day of Week. Volume for texters mentioning college peaks on Monday, and tails off over the week.
  • Time of Day. The peak time of day for conversations is night time, 9pm - 2am.
 

II. Heroes

Tara O’reilly is a Crisis Counselor and a member of our Youth Advisory Council. Becoming a Crisis Counselor motivated her to become a mental health advocate on her college campus.

How did you learn about Crisis Text Line?

I was actually looking to become some kind of online support for people; so funnily enough, I learned about Crisis Text Line from a simple Google search! After reading about what it takes to be a Crisis Counselor, I applied on the spot.

What is your favorite thing about being a Crisis Counselor?

It is honestly difficult to name my favorite thing about being a Crisis Counselor; but the ability to help people in their moment of need is indescribable and offers me the opportunity to inspire people in a way that I was unable to before I joined Crisis Text Line. The feeling you get when a texter sends something like, “you saved my life tonight,” is incredibly humbling. But the one thing that truly makes Crisis Text Line stand out is its amazing community of Crisis Counselors, Supervisors, and superstars behind the scenes. I have never experienced a community as empathetic and supportive as the community found within Crisis Text Line and that is what makes Crisis Text Line such a unique and special organization.

What is the best thing you've learned as a Crisis Counselor?

Proper self-care. I have always been the kind of person to help people, but becoming a Crisis Counselor made me realize how important it is to not only help others but to help myself as well. Crisis Text Line does an amazing job supporting their Crisis Counselors and because of them I learned the true meaning of “you can’t pour from an empty cup.” Learning to be proactive in taking care of myself has benefitted me on and off of the platform; allowing me to continue doing what I love in a more healthy and productive way.

 
III. Org News

A. Post Election. The entire country was feeling a lot of feels. We saw a 4x increase in volume in the days following the election. The words “election” and “scared” were the top two things being mentioned by texters. The most common association with “scared” was “LGBTQ.”

How did we handle it? We rallied! Our community of trained volunteer Crisis Counselors are incredible. Despite the increase in volume, we actually saw a 2 percentage point increase in satisfaction ratings (a whopping 88% of texters said that connecting with us was helpful.) And, we actually saw a 3 percentage point increase in speed. We were able to help 91% of texters in under 5 five minutes--including “high severity” texters connecting with a human in an average 39 seconds.

B. We’re hiring! Apply now to become our new Crisis Counselor Supervisor, Crisis Counselor Supervisor (Veterans Lead),  Data Scientist, Office Manager, DevOps Engineer or Senior Web Software Engineer.

C. Want to intern with us? Internships for Spring 2017 go live here on December 1st.

D. Some big partnerships! This month we launched partnerships with the KIPP Foundation and Gallaudet. Our Gallaudet partnership is the first of many to roll out our keyword DEAF to 741741 serving the Deaf and hard of hearing population. Check out the full announcement here.  Are you a part of a school system, city/state government or national organization? Partner with us! Email Liz: liz@crisistextline.org

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bob Filbin
Chief Data Scientist

Random fact about me: I was vegetarian for five years. Then I ate a bacon cheeseburger. Now I eat tofu half the time, and bacon cheeseburgers occasionally.

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