What can advocates and service providers reasonably do “remotely” for clients versus normal in-person services? Are there best practices for remote service provision? How do service providers best stay connected to clients during this time?
Remote advocacy can be very effective and may even offer more connection to clients than less frequent in-person services. After discussing with clients what forms of communication are safe for them, providers can reach out and check in with clients by text, email, phone, video chats, and many other options. All of these communication methods allow survivor/advocates to engage in the same forms of services/advocacy as in-person — it just looks a little different. Clients, during this time, may benefit from more frequent check-ins (via text or IM if that’s safe and comfortable for the client). See https://www.techsafety.org/ for some ideas of safer tech strategies and solutions.
Safety Net’s Digital Services Toolkit dives into the various ways that services can be provided remotely, as well as best practices for doing so. If you have more questions after reviewing that, please contact safetynet@nnedv.org