INFORMATION AND GUIDELINES FOR CLIENTS

Help Now Advocacy assists people stuck in overwhelming crisis situations—not knowing how to get out and feeling like things are only getting worse.

We have helped thousands of people in those types of situations since 2004. There is no “red tape” to delay getting our help, and we do not charge any fees for our services. And, while we do not charge any fees, we do rely on donations to keep our doors open for many clients who have no income or who are in debt. As you receive our help or after receiving it, we ask you to consider making a donation that you can afford. It can be made through our website.

We are problem-solvers and dispute resolvers. We cannot promise any particular outcome. We will always use our very best efforts to get you the outcome you desire if it is realistic under your circumstances, and, if it is not, we will tell you so and why. We will help you work toward achieving that outcome either by giving sensible advice, advocating on your behalf with others, or, if there is some service you need that we cannot provide, referring you to appropriate resources (and keeping our door open in case that does not work for you).

We are not licensed attorneys and cannot give you legal advice. We may be able to get an answer to your legal question from an attorney licensed in your state and pass that on to you. In other cases, we may be able to find an attorney who is willing to reduce fees or not charge at all for assisting you.

We do not give direct cash assistance. If you need that, we may be able to help find sources that will provide the direct cash assistance you need depending on the amount and other circumstances.

NOTE: Our phone system automatically records all incoming and outgoing calls. We do not control that but want to advise you of it. Your confidentiality is protected. When you communicate with us by phone, you do so with the understanding, here advised, that the call is being recorded. All call recordings are kept confidential. We do use them in our training process for new advocates, all of whom must sign confidentiality agreements with us before they can begin.

Here are some ways you can help us help you:

• Start by telling us how you are hoping we can help — the outcome you are hoping for. That will help focus our discussion as we learn more about your situation.

• If we ask you questions, answer them directly and to the point.

• Always be truthful with and courteous to the volunteer advocates with whom you are working. If there are some bad facts that would tend to work against the outcome you would like us to achieve, we need to know them too so we can consider them in helping you. We will terminate services immediately if we find that you have lied to us or misled us OR if you curse or, in our discretion, you are being abusive/nasty/argumentative in the way you talk to or communicate with any advocate.

• If you are in a dispute with an individual or a business — as best you can, tell us how you think they see the situation based on things they have said or their actions.

• Listen to and consider our advice. We are experienced problem-solvers able provide you with solid advice. If you disagree with the advice, of course we can discuss it, and we may modify it depending on what you have to say. But it is important to understand that the best advice may not always be what you want to hear or were expecting to hear. If you dismiss that advice or get angry about it, you may be hurting yourself.

• Be our partner in resolving your situation. If more than advice is required, we will tell you our planned course of action to make sure you are comfortable with it or modify it after discussion. We will also report back to you as we proceed and will advise you of next steps if more are needed.

• As we work on your matter, call us only if you have new information to tell us, or, if you have not heard from us within a reasonable period. (What is a reasonable period always depends on the urgency of the circumstances viewed objectively), then call for an update. Otherwise, please wait for us to call you when we have information to report, and, if we have not called, your assumption should be that we have no new information to share.

The Help Now! Advocacy team thanks you for reading our guidelines.  If you are OK with our guidelines, please complete and send us the form below so we can get started and help.

Send a message:

MAILING ADDRESS:
Help Now! Advocacy
2317 E. Main St.
Medford, OR 97504 USA
855-4-CRISES (855-427-4737) or use 541-732-1911