Heather
Member # 3
posted 11-10-2009 09:17 PM
Check it out!http://www.scarleteen.com/text_scarleteen To give you the skinny right here on the boards, you can now text us your questions! To ask Scarleteen a question via text, just text 66746 and start your question with the keyword ASKST. You can put the number in your phone now so you have it later if you need it, too. We'll pick up the line as quickly as possible just like we do at the message boards to help you or your friends out fast. We can even go back and forth: if you have more questions after asking one (or we didn't answer you as well as you'd have liked), just respond with more and we can continue the conversation. Response times may vary, but just like with the message boards many of our users will get answers within less than an hour of asking: some even within minutes. We know sometimes your questions are time-sensitive, so we'll do our best to answer them as fast as we can. Response time may be faster between the hours of 6AM and 11PM PST. There is no additional fee for texting us: the cost is the same as whatever it costs you to text anyone else. Your privacy is also completely protected: we can't and won't ever see or get your name or your phone number. Our service will instead assign you a totally random user ID. Your answers will come from one of our staff or volunteers.What can you use the new text service for? • Questions about your body and sexual health, your overall sexuality, birth control, sexually transmitted infections, your relationships, gender identity or sexual identity, your rights as a young person: all the same kinds of things you can ask about on the website. • Help you need when you're out looking for it and feeling lost, like with finding emergency contraception (or dealing with a pharmacist refusal), a sexual health clinic, a rape or abuse crisis center or hotline, help with any kind of harassment of bullying, even if you're just trying to find somewhere in your area to buy condoms. Seriously: we'd be happy to look up a map on our end and tell you how to get to a pharmacy or clinic as easily as possible if it's going to help you take care of yourself. • Having someone on the line during something scary or tough, just so you feel better. If you need us to be textable for you while you're sweating out those long three minutes on a pregnancy test or waiting for someone you trust to pick you up from a creepy party or date, we're around and glad to sit through it with you. • For helping out a friend. Many of our users come to Scarleteen to help others out. If you need help helping someone else, or finding a service for a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend or sibling, we can get you started, even if you're not at home. We're super stoked about this, and hope you find it useful!