We’re pretty sure everyone knows that CPO’s phones are answered 24 hours a day thanks to our dedicated hotline volunteers. But did you know that CPO has a 24/7 texting hotline, too? It’s been active for about 9 months now.
Our Ministry Director, Rhonda Fisher, currently responds to all the texts received on this line. When asked why we decided to branch out into the texting world, Rhonda replied, “I felt like this was an important step for us to take. Many people (especially high school and college age) prefer texting over voice calls. I certainly don’t want a girl to refrain from getting our services because she didn’t feel comfortable dialing a number. If she prefers to text, so be it. We are happy to help her that way!”
Since CPO started the service in October 2015, she has corresponded with over 50 different women. Fisher says, “We occasionally get text messages from potential adoptive families and volunteers or people who are confused about the services we offer. But the majority of the texts are from women who are interested in our services (mostly pregnancy tests and ultrasounds) and want more information. When they send a text it goes to my phone via a special app and I can reply to them from our established CPO phone number. Depending on what they want, I can encourage them to make an appointment for an ultrasound, come to support group, or if they are interested in choosing adoption, I put them in contact with Stephanie, our Adoption Director.”
Fisher feels the text line could be useful if a woman wants to “talk” about her pregnancy but doesn’t want her parents, roommate, boyfriend, or others to know what’s going on. Sometimes she’s just not ready to share the news with everyone yet, and texting allows her to feel safe while communicating. 