Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 10 to 10 Helpline?
The Helpline operates from 10am to 10pm 365 days a year. We are a helpline not a hotline: we are not considered an emergency response service.
What kind of help do callers get?
Who answers the phone?
What kind of training do staff get?
Do you help teens?
Yes. The Helpline is available to teens and young adults and staff are trained in the unique developmental aspects and obstacles faced by young people.
What do you mean by confidential and anonymous?
Do you ever work with the person using harm and their partner together, or recommend couples counseling?
No. We only work with one person at a time. Even if two members of a current or former couple call us separately, we do not confirm or deny that the other party has called us, in order to maintain the confidentiality of all callers.
Although we never work with two people together, we do accept calls from people who use abuse and from survivors. If someone who uses harm calls, we help them gain insight into their actions and help them hold themselves accountable, using the framework of abusive values and values of equity and respect. They will get help developing goals and action steps that center safety and accountability, and will be given referrals to services that can support long-term change.
If a survivor calls, we can share the abusive values framework with them which can add to their understanding of their experience and can reinforce the fact that abuse is always the responsibility of the harm doer and never the fault or responsibility of the victim or survivor. We share information about the process of change for people who cause harm, to add to the survivor’s resources for making their own decisions about the relationship. We refer to local survivor services.
Again, we will never confirm to any caller whether or not their partner has called.
We also do not recommend couples counseling when a partner is using the tools of abuse, control and dominance in the partnership. We do not recommend this because the process is dangerous and compromising for the survivor.
The stages of change for the person causing harm in the partnership need to be navigated individually, with supports, and not with the survivor who is the target of the abuse.
If you would like to learn more about how we approach this work, please call us at 877-898-3411.