Each year of talkline service Exhale has completed a talkline call report detailing the use of our cornerstone program. Now that Exhale has a private online community, we expanded our reporting and now include information about the use of all of our direct services in an annual Services Report.
Here are a few highlights from our 2009 Services Report:
Exhale After-Abortion Talkline
Exhale received 6,600 calls to the post-abortion talkline and trained 21 new volunteers to serve as peer counselors. Exhale received calls from 49 of 50 states in the nation, and California continues to represent the highest percentage of calls at approximately 31% of all calls.
Gender:
On average 93% of calls are from women, 7% are from men, and 77% of callers are from women who have had abortions.
Language:
The majority of calls are in English, on average about 95%, while 5% are in Spanish, and calls in Vietnamese and Mandarin represent less than 1 % each.
Age:
The greatest number of calls is from people in their 20’s at 34%, while 16% of calls are from people in their 30’s and 8% of calls are from people in their teens. The age of more than 30% of callers is unknown.
Race & Ethnicity:
Approximately 25% of callers are white, 8% are black or African American, 5% are Latina and 3% are Asian. The racial identity of more than 50% of callers is unknown.
Timeframe since abortion:
Over 63% of callers have had an abortion within the last year and 39% have had an abortion in the last month.
How callers learned of Exhale:
Many callers learned about Exhale through either direct referral from an abortion provider or through the internet (35%).
What callers talked about:
The vast majority of callers called with general feelings related to an abortion. About 40% of callers received some kind of referral, with 23% of all referrals for medical concerns or questions and 20% of referrals for pregnancy options counseling.
In July 2009, Exhale began offering a trustworthy place and way for women who have had abortions to connect with each other directly around their shared personal experiences on our confidential online community. In the first 6 months of operation, there were 102 new members, 64% of members contributed content, over 700 posts were written (including blogs and comments), and an average of 11 posts were made per contributing member. About 1 in 5 members were from California, the largest known region represented. The greatest percentage of members was women from 25-34 years old at 44%, with 17% of members from 35-44 years old and 16% of members from 15-24 years old. Popular topics included forums such as “abortion stories”, “you and your partner”, “the spiritual and religious corner” and “how are you taking care of yourself?”
Thanks for posting the highlights, Exhale! I look forward to learning more about those joining the Online Community, and how they are utilizing the forum to connect and consider their post-abortion wellness. The talkline and online community are vital services that continue to be in high demand – a testament to the quality Exhale provides, and the dearth of other post-abortion wellness services that truly honor diverse experiences, and center the dialogue with women.
Julie, thank you for your interest in the EOC! Women utilize and support the community in a variety of ways. Many women come to voice their story, and to process their experience and feelings surrounding their abortions. Women also join in the discussions of others, voicing support and sharing ideas with each other. The site is fully moderated by Exhale volunteer counselors who are trained in the particulars of effective moderating. One of the many rewarding, and remarkable aspects of this forum is the manner in which women will come forward with their stories, often pouring out intense feelings, questions as they relay their experience and explore surrounding issues in their lives. Then, often within a single day, these same women will come back on the site to respond calmly, kindly and in full support of other women-who are now sharing their own deeply personal stories. It truly is a place of connection, and shared insight. We also know that there are women who come to the site and simply read stories and discussions. The EOC values this, too, and is also considering ways in which to expand the discussions in order to fully represent and give voice to a wider variety of experiences and feelings surrounding abortion. It’s exciting!
Susan Lehman, EOC Moderator
Also: Jackie-Exhale counselors often give callers seeking after abortion religious counseling a referral to Faith Aloud, an interdenominational organization that works on a voicemail system. (Catholic/Protestant, Buddhist, Jewish, Unitarian-Universalists are the denominations/faiths listed on our referral sheet.) http://www.faithaloud.org provides their phone #s and more information. Hope that helps!