Policies
Safeguarding
How we protect the safety and dignity of the people we serve, and how to raise a concern about conduct.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, do not use this website to get help. Call 988 in the United States, or your local emergency number. Crisis support
Last updated: September 2026
Our commitment
Everyone who contacts us has the right to be treated with respect and to be safe from harm, exploitation and discrimination. This applies to participants, families, volunteers, staff and partner organizations alike.
What we expect from anyone acting on our behalf
Staff, volunteers and partners are expected to:
- Stay within their role and never provide care or advice they are not qualified to give.
- Keep personal information confidential and only access what their work requires.
- Never request money, gifts or personal favors from anyone we serve.
- Maintain clear boundaries, and raise concerns rather than handle them privately.
Screening people who act on our behalf
Staff and volunteers are approved by the organization before they take on a role, and the checks we ask for match the role. Roles involving contact with people seeking help, or access to their information, carry stricter requirements than general support roles.
- Identity and reference checks appropriate to the role.
- Confirmation of professional licensure where a role requires it, from the licensing body.
- Background checks where the role and the law call for them.
- Agreement to this policy, to confidentiality terms, and to the boundaries described above.
- Approval for a specific role only, with access removed when the role ends.
People at heightened risk
Requests involving children, older adults, or anyone who may be unable to protect themselves are handled with additional care and are reviewed by a manager. Where the law requires a report to be made to authorities, we make it.
For anyone under 18, we expect a parent, guardian, or an authorized professional to make the request or to be involved in it. We do not arrange care for a minor without appropriate adult involvement.
Confidentiality and its limits
What you share with us is kept confidential and is seen only by the staff handling your request. There are narrow situations where we may have to act on information without your agreement:
- When there is a serious and immediate risk to someone's life or safety.
- When the law requires a report, such as suspected abuse or neglect of a child or a vulnerable adult.
- When a court order, subpoena, or regulator legally compels disclosure.
Our duty to protect, and its limits
If we become aware that someone may be in immediate danger, we will act: we will encourage contact with emergency services or a crisis line, and where we believe it is necessary and lawful, we may contact emergency services or an appropriate authority ourselves.
This is not a monitoring or crisis service. Our forms and inboxes are not watched around the clock, we cannot guarantee that a message will be read in time, and we cannot intervene in an emergency. Anyone in immediate danger should contact emergency services directly, or call or text 988 in the United States.
What we do not do
So that expectations are clear, the organization does not:
- Provide clinical treatment, diagnosis, therapy, or prescribing. Care is delivered by independent licensed professionals.
- Supervise or direct the clinical decisions of independent providers or pharmacies.
- Provide emergency, crisis, or after-hours response.
- Transport people, provide housing, or provide in-person supervision of anyone.
- Guarantee that a request will result in services, funding, or a particular outcome.
Raising a concern
If someone acting on our behalf has behaved in a way that worries you, tell us through the contact form and say that your message is a safeguarding concern. You may describe what happened without naming yourself, though we can usually do more when we can follow up with you.
If a person is in immediate danger, contact emergency services first. Call or text 988 in the United States for a mental health crisis.
How reports are handled
Reports go to a manager, are recorded, and are shared only with the people who need to act on them. Where appropriate, we suspend a person's role or access while a concern is reviewed. We will not retaliate against anyone who raises a concern in good faith, and we ask the same of everyone acting on our behalf.
Where a report involves a suspected crime or a legal reporting duty, we involve the appropriate authorities. Concerns about a licensed professional may also be reported to their licensing body.
Records and review
Safeguarding records are kept securely, restricted to the staff who need them, and retained only as long as our obligations require. This policy is reviewed as the organization's programs change, and the date above shows the most recent update.