Staying In Touch With Teens
~Steve Trout, Executive Director ~ Southern Consortium for Children~
TeenLine ODMH Kids News Southern Consortium for Children
Teenline was contracted
to a local certified mental health agency to field calls from around the region,
and teens, when appropriate, were directed to resources in their respective
locale. Marketing efforts were geared toward local schools, social service
agencies and spots where teens gather on a regular basis. We posted posters,
passed out pens, pencils, key fobs etc. with the Teenline logo and 1-800 number
clearly displayed. Over a ten-year period Teenline users averaged 150 calls per
month with most of the calls classified as “non-emergency” and teens asking a
range of questions. Teenline quickly became known as a number to call to get an
answer to a “burning” question, or simply a place where “I can be heard,” but
also a place to call in a real time of crisis.
In 2004 we began to see a marked downturn in the number of Teenline calls. We
attributed some of the downturn to a change in service provider, but this (2004)
was also a time when web sites such as YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook became a
dominant means of expression within the youth culture. This was also a time when
cell phones became more affordable and text messaging was becoming the major
means of distance communication between teens. Teenline, as we had known it,
lost relevance. We were at risk of losing touch with the region’s teenage
population.
The notion of “losing touch” served as an inspiration to shed our complacency
and dare to do something different. The SCC has developed a number of web sites
for different purposes and this experience guided our thinking in developing a
web site to replace Teenline. We knew that we needed a web site with:
1.) Color and pizzazz
2.) Teen leadership, designed by teens for teens
3.) Safety consciousness that is “predator proof”
4.) Up-to-date and teen-oriented “no-holds-barred” information
5.) A clear connection to our regional human service safety net
6.) The ability to be dynamic and the flexibility to meet current need.
We recruited the guidance of the Athens High
School Peer Listening Group, and LAUNCH, Jackson County Youth Development
Initiative to assist in creating the site. Both groups were instrumental in
developing the site logo, front page design and site content. We continue to
consult with youth groups to provide valuable feedback and consultation and will
continue to do so for the life of the web site.
In November, 2006, www.teenlineohio.org
went live, after approximately a year of site development. The site is
“predator resistant” in that no names or addresses (including e-mail) or
telephone numbers are shared on-line. Legal counsel has consulted throughout the
development process leaving very limited liability exposure. TeenlineOhio is
monitored daily by Peg Meis, who directs all SCC crisis related initiatives. Peg
is a licensed clinician who responds to questions, makes referrals as needed and
checks for “appropriateness” of potential posts on the youth forum.
www.teenlineohio.org has averaged over
1,000 unique visitors per month since its inception and more than 250,000 pages
of site information have been viewed. We estimate site replication in Ohio at
approximately $5,000 per site, which includes single or multi-county sites.
Ongoing costs are minimal. The site was developed to be managed “in-house,” so
most edits, changes, and additions can be performed by support staff. We
strongly encourage clinical supervision of the site or any similar site, which
may be an additional but small cost.
We market TeenlineOhio in much the same way we marketed our crisis telephone
line. One effective marketing strategy has been to offer local schools pencils
and/or highlighters with the TeenlineOhio logo to be used for mandatory testing
purposes. Of course, within the teen population, word-of-mouth is as effective
as any strategy. With an average of 1,000 unique visitors per month our
marketing strategy seems to be working. We spend approximately $3,000 per year
for marketing within the ten counties.
Site utilization can be tracked, but only to a small extent. Since we built the
site to limit youth exposure to possible predators, we cannot track outcomes as
well as we would prefer. However, our overall numbers seem to indicate that we
have done the right thing in developing a teen-driven web site. The expenditure
of time and money is simply the cost of “staying in touch” with our local teen
population.