How to Use thehotline.org Safely and Plan for Your Safety

You can use thehotline.org to reach a live advocate by phone, chat, or text, and to work through its Plan for Safety tools, including internet safety guidance. The site also carries a Security Alert and a note on digital security, which matter if someone may monitor your device. Use a safer device or network when possible, and treat browsing history as something that can be seen. The site does not provide direct financial assistance such as cash, hotel vouchers, or transportation vouchers, but advocates can refer you to community resources that may help.

Reach an advocate discreetly

The site lists several ways to connect, so you can pick the one that fits your situation:

If you are worried about being overheard, texting or chat may be easier to do quietly than a phone call, but any of these channels can leave a record on your device or phone bill. The site's own guidance points to digital security, so check the device you use before you reach out.

Use the Plan for Safety tools

The site's Plan for Safety section is the place to start for practical steps to stay safer. It links to tools and to a dedicated internet safety page ("Learn more about digital security"). Work through it with these steps in mind:

1. Open the Plan for Safety page and read the general safety tools first.
2. Follow the internet safety link to review digital security guidance before you search further or store any information.
3. Decide what to keep and where. Avoid saving pages, notes, or screenshots on a device someone else can access.
4. Check your expected result. The goal is a set of steps you can act on without leaving traces that put you at risk.

What the Security Alert means for you

The site displays a Security Alert alongside its main content. Treat it as a prompt to think about who can see your screen, your browser history, and your messages. If you share a device or account, consider using a different device, a private browsing window, or a trusted person's phone. No browsing method is guaranteed invisible, so the safer choice is a device the other person does not control.

Connect with local providers

Advocates can provide support, crisis intervention, education about domestic violence, and community resources and referrals. The site points to local providers for needs it does not fund directly:

• Shelters
• Legal help
• Financial aid
• Counseling
• State coalitions
• Low and no cost health care

Ask an advocate to help you identify which of these fits your situation. Because the Hotline does not provide direct financial assistance, expect referrals rather than vouchers or cash.

Learn about abuse and support others

The site's learning section covers warning signs, the Power and Control Wheel, why people abuse, and how to support someone else experiencing abuse, including how to start a conversation. It also addresses abuse in underserved populations, including Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing communities and Native communities, and offers information for those causing harm ("Is Change Possible?" and "Am I Hurting My Partner?"). Reading these pages can help you name what is happening and prepare for a conversation with an advocate.

Common sticking points

• Worrying a call will be seen on the bill. Text or chat may leave different traces, not none. Check the device and account first.
• Expecting money or a hotel voucher. The Hotline does not provide direct financial assistance; it connects you with community resources that may.
• Using the A.I. chat when you need a person. Ruth is for when you can't reach a live advocate; for a live person, call, chat, or text.
• Searching on a shared device. Use the internet safety guidance and, where possible, a device the other person does not control.