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Miracle Messages hotline volunteering Your starting point for recording a message, delivering it, and facilitating a reunion

Ready to take a call?

The Miracle Messages is a way for anyone person experiencing homelessness to initiate a search for a loved one. The hotline is staffed by Miracle Messages volunteers, who record information, share cases with the community, and reach out to leads.

Before you become a hotline volunteer, you'll need to attend an orientation. Click here to sign up!

This is your Miracle Messages Hotline Launchpad.

Starting your shift? Click on the links below to open each of the tools in a new tab.

  1. Dialpad (where calls come in)
  2. The phone intake form (including a script for intake)
  3. Whitepages Premium login page
  4. Facebook

If you are preparing for your first shift (or just need a refresher) please take a look at the video tutorial below to get familiar with our setup.

A video showing a typical call flow is coming soon. Stay tuned!

Other training resources

Want more training? Here are a few to check out:

We've made volunteering with Miracle Messages even easier--now you can do it from your phone!

Here's a quick video tutorial on how to be a phone volunteer.

Setting up

1) Download Dialpad. This is the "hotline system" that we use to take calls. The quick video below will walk you through the features of Dialpad, but here's the tl;dr:

Taking a call

If you get a call on the dialpad number, pick it up!

Overview:

  1. Call in a buddy! (optional)
  2. Collect information
  3. Record and upload video
  4. Make a plan!

1. Call in a buddy! The best way to get comfortable doing this work is to know that you aren't alone doing it! So we have a "buddy-on-call" who supports our volunteers. Her name is Nancy, and she's great!

She can talk you through your first MM recording, and can even stay on the line with you and get the search started.

2. Collect information. We've created an form with a set of questions that you should ask (you can access it below). Simply go through the form with the client and collect as much information as possible.

3. Record and submit a video message. Ask the client if he or she would like to record a video message to the loved ones, which may be shared on social media in an effort to find them. If the client wants to do this, record the video using the camera on your smartphone.

At the beginning of the video, while the camera is rolling, ask the client "do we have your permission to record and share this video?" Once they have agreed, they should say whatever they would want to say to the loved one if he/she was standing in front of them.

Once you've recorded the video, submit it to our Dropbox folder, which you can access below.

4. Make a plan to follow up. Don't end the encounter with the homeless client without a clear plan for follow up and next steps! You should have already collected some contact information through the form, but even so, take a moment to do the following:

  1. Plan out next steps. If you can, make a plan to meet the client 24 hours from now, exactly where you are right now. If you can't do that, come up with a plan that works for you to sync up about the search results.
  2. Verify contact information. Make sure that the contact information that you collected for the client has been properly stored and is correct.
  3. Make a contingency plan. What will you do if you can't get back in touch with the client for some reason? Find out if the client has a caseworker, or if they use a service organization or agency services with regularity.
  4. Identify where Miracle Messages can be found in your community. If there is a kiosk in your city, let the client know where it is.
  5. Give the homeless client a way to reach Miracle Messages. You can give the client our phone number (maybe write it down for them):

(855) 508-5425

Credits:

Created with images by Luca Bravo - "Desktop after work"

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