Answer call
Establish a relationship with the caller. The caller needs to know what
your role and function are. You need to be clear about this by responding
appropriately to the caller.
Be supportive
Listen and validate the caller. Be natural. Reinforce that no one
deserves to be abused. Acknowledge that it took courage to call in the
first place (huge step).
Challenge
Challenge the caller to take steps to move forward. Be careful not to
suggest what you think might be best. The caller always knows best what
they should do. Present them with possibilities and remember that no step
is too small (even if their next step is to call back).
Every call is going to be different. Every victim's situation is going
to be different. It doesn't matter how many calls you answer or how many
victims you speak to. It is very important not to fill in gaps of a story
with assumptions. Just because the last 100 callers experienced
"x", this caller may be experiencing "y". This
information could mean the difference between life and death; between one safety
plan versus another.
It is okay to do any of the following
