Terms of Service & Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

Last Updated: August 2017

IF YOU ARE IN DANGER OR NEED EMERGENCY HELP, CALL 911 OR YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

Scope; Acceptance of Terms and Conditions.

At Centre Helps (“Centre Helps”, “we”, or “us”), our goal is to provide immediate, empathic support and concrete solutions to those seeking support, information or referral, and to help people in crisis. Through interaction and discussion, we work to provide multiple options for those seeking solutions to problems and encourage them to choose the options that best fit their abilities, beliefs, and resources. If someone expresses a desire to hurt themselves or others and demonstrates a willingness to follow through on that desire, we will involve appropriate crisis response personnel. We are committed to providing high quality, empathic services at the lowest cost possible. As a result, well-trained and committed volunteers represent the most valuable resource we provide to the community at large. To that end, our volunteers receive extensive training and are charged with managing the organization, providing the majority of our direct services and assisting with program and resource development. Our services may be accessed via internet chat, text message, phone call, or in-person drop in.

Before using or accessing the services provided by Centre Helps (the “Service”), please read the following. By accessing or using the Service you agree to these Terms of Service (the “Terms of Service”) and the privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy” and together with the Terms of Service, these “Terms”) described below. These Terms govern your access and use of the Service. You may contact Centre Helps by e-mail at info@CentreHelps.org with questions about these Terms. If you don’t agree to these Terms, you may not use the Service. If you no longer wish to receive text messages, you may opt out at any time by texting the word STOP. Modification of the Terms of Service This statement may be modified from time to time. Any changes will be effective immediately upon our posting them to our website at CentreHelps.org and through our chat services hosted by iCarol. Your use of the Service after any such modifications have been posted shall constitute your acceptance of the revised Terms of Service. Each time that you first send a text message to Centre Helps, you’ll receive a couple automated reply text message(s) with a link to our current Terms of Service so you may review them before continuing to use text services with Centre Helps. Using text services with Centre Helps after receiving those text message(s) shall constitute your acceptance of the Terms of Service.

Each time you start a new chat conversation through CentreHelps.org, you will be given the option to register or proceed anonymously. In order to do either, you must check that you agree and have read the terms and conditions of that service, which are available via hyperlink on that initial page. If you have previously registered and login to begin a new chat conversation at a later date, your initial agreement shall constitute continued acceptance of the Terms of Service.

Nature and Use of Information Provided through The Service Please remember that your participation in Centre Helps’ services does not constitute an attorney-client relationship, a doctor-patient relationship, a therapist-client relationship, a therapist-patient relationship or any other sort of confidential relationship. Centre Helps is not a substitute for professional health care. If you believe you are experiencing a medical emergency, immediately call your doctor or 911. And, if you are experiencing a clinical or long-term issue, you should consult a medical professional. Neither Centre Helps nor any of our employees, volunteers, or agents are responsible for any decisions, or results of the decisions that you make while, as a result of, or after using the Service. This includes whether you choose to seek or not seek professional care, or to modify or terminate specific treatment that you are currently receiving based on the information provided by this service. Survey At the end of your text conversation, you may receive a link to take a survey. At the end of your chat conversation, you will be redirected to this survey. During your phone call or drop-in interaction, you may be asked these questions. This is to help us learn from you and improve our service. You may skip any of these questions.

Risks, Use of Service You assume all risk for use of the service. Neither Centre Helps nor any of our employees, volunteers, agents, service providers, or any other entities with whom Centre Helps has contracted shall have any liability for (1) actions taken by you or a third party, or not taken by you or a third party, or (2) the unavailability of the service, and you agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless for damages arising out of (A) your use of the Service,

(B) your breach of these Terms,

(D) claims asserted by third parties that you are in breach of these Terms or

E) information provided by you through Centre Helps. Without limiting the foregoing, in no event shall Centre Helps be liable for any special, incidental, consequential, exemplary or indirect damages.

The service is provided on an “as is” basis and “as available” basis. Centre Helps and its service providers expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, without limitation, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Centre Helps and its service providers make no warranty that Centre Helps will (A) meet your requirements; (B) be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free; or (C) meet your expectations. The foregoing disclaimers of liability apply to all damages or injury, including those caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect or delay in operation or transmission, whether for breach of contract, tortious behavior, including negligence, or any other cause of action.

Prohibited Uses; Right to Terminate Access

You may use Centre Helps only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree to use the Service only for lawful and legitimate purposes. You agree not to use the Service:

• in any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local and international law or regulation;

• for the purpose of exploiting, harming or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personal information or otherwise;

• to threaten, harass, or otherwise inappropriately abuse Centre Helps, its employees, partners, agents, subcontractors, volunteers, or others;

• to send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any content which does not comply with these Terms;

• to “spam,” gather or attempt to gather personal information belonging to users or others for the purposes of spamming, marketing, selling to third parties, or otherwise abusing Centre Helps or its users;

• to impersonate or attempt to impersonate another person or entity; or

• to engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the Services, or which, as determined by us, may harm Centre Helps or users of the Services or expose them to liability; or

• to copy, adapt, decompile, reverse engineer, attempt to discover the source code of or make a derivative works of the Service or any portion of the Service; or • to otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of Centre Helps

Centre Helps reserves the right to terminate your access to the Service if you violate these Terms, including by engaging in the prohibited uses described above.

Centre Helps may also unilaterally terminate your access to the Service. For example, we might determine that you’d be better served by a different kind of support or that you require service beyond those that we can reasonably provide to you.

Centre Helps further reserves the right to terminate the Service or your access to it, for any other reason, at our sole discretion.

Third Party Services

You may contact us through third party websites, applications or services (“Third Party Services”). For example, Facebook Messenger. However, these Terms only apply to you and Centre Helps. We are not responsible for, and make no representations regarding the policies of business practices of any Third Party Services. If you contact us through a Third Party Service, you are subject to these Terms as well as the terms and policies of the Third Party Service. We encourage you to review the terms and policies of any Third Party Service you use to contact Centre Helps. If you do not wish to be subject to a Third Party Service’s terms or policies, please do not contact Centre Helps through a Third Party Service; instead you should contact us initiating a chat through our website (CentreHelps.org), texting to 814.237.5855, phoning 814.237.5855 or any of our other hotline numbers, or dropping in at our physical location during walk-in hours.

Governing Law; International Users

These Terms of Service and the provision of the Service is governed solely by, and shall be interpreted according to, the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania without giving effect to principles of conflict of law. Centre Helps and you both consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts applicable to State College, Pennsylvania.

The Service is operated in the United States. If you are located outside the United States, please be aware that any information you provide will be collected in or transferred to the United States. By using the Service and/or providing us with your information, you consent to that collection and transfer.

Severability; Entire Agreement

If a court finds any provision of these Terms of Service to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent possible and the remaining terms shall remain in full force and effect. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Centre Helps, superseding any other written or oral agreements or understandings.

Privacy and Security

We take your privacy and security very seriously, so we employ reasonable security controls (including encryption) to help protect your information. Despite these protections, SMS and instant messaging remain imperfectly secure environments. Centre Helps cannot guarantee protection from intruders, hackers or interceptors. You agree to use the Service and submit information to Centre Helps at your own risk, and you agree that Centre Helps has no liability regarding anyone’s unauthorized access to Centre Helps or the data associated with it.

Additionally, we care about the privacy and safety of our staff and volunteers. In using the Service, you agree to not communicate with our staff and volunteers outside of the Service. If you have questions, comments or feedback for us, please email info@CentreHelps.org

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: August 2017

INTRODUCTION; SCOPE

This privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) governs your use of Centre Helps services, describes what information we collect through the service provided by Centre Helps, and explains how we use, transfer, and store your information after we collect it. This policy will inform you if and to whom we disclose any of that information, and what choices you have in how we use that information. So before using the Service, please read the following.

YOUR CONSENT AND MODIFICATIONS TO PRIVACY POLICY

By using Centre Helps’ services, you agree to the practices outlined in this Privacy Policy. Centre Helps may modify this Privacy Policy from time to time, so please consult it regularly for any such changes. Any modifications will be effective immediately upon our posting them to our website at CentreHelps.org and through our chat services hosted by iCarol. Your use of the Service after any such modifications have been posted shall constitute your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.

Each time that you first send a text message to Centre Helps, you’ll receive a couple automated reply text message(s) with a link to our current Privacy Policy so you may review them before continuing to use text services with Centre Helps. Using text services with Centre Helps after receiving those text message(s) shall constitute your acceptance of the Privacy Policy.

If you call into Centre Helps to access services via conversation over the phone, or if you walk in to our location to receive services in person, you are agreeing to the Privacy Policy.

COLLECTION AND USE OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

“Personally Identifiable Information” is data that can be used to uniquely identify you, such as your full name or home address. During your use of Centre Helps’ services you may be prompted to voluntarily provide Personally Identifiable Information, including but not limited to, your name or home address.

While we may collect Personally Identifiable Information, we will not share it with any third parties except as noted in this Privacy Policy.

Centre Helps uses the information it collects about you to, among other things, to improve the Service, contact you, provide anonymous reporting internally, and fulfill your requests, including but not limited to referrals to other services.

The following section provides examples of the types of Personally Identifiable Information Centre Helps may collect and how we may use it.

WHAT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We do not collect any Personally Identifiable Information from you other than the phone number you text or call us from and that which you provide to us. Some of the types of Personally Identifiable Information that we may request include:

• When you use the Service, we may request information including your name, age, and zip code.

• When you contact us about a friend, family member, or other person in need of the Service, we may request the information you provide about those people such as name and zip code.

• In situations where you or someone else is in danger or in need of emergency help, we may request your current location, or the current location of the person in danger.

HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

We use Personally Identifiable Information to help us develop, deliver, and improve our products, content, advertising and the Service.

• We may also use Personally Identifiable Information for internal purposes such as auditing, data analysis, and research to improve Centre Helps’ products, services, and communications.

• We may also use your information to help us personalize your experience with us and to operate, maintain, and improve the features and functionality of our service.

COLLECTION AND USE OF NON-PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

We also collect non-Personally Identifiable Information, which is data that cannot be directly used to identify or contact you. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-Personally Identifiable Information for any purpose, including but not limited to improving volunteer services, disclosing to third parties to generate support for Centre Helps, or as required by law. Below are examples of non-Personally Identifiable Information that we collect and how we may use it:

• We may collect information such as age, gender, language, zip code, area code, and the time zone where a phone is being used to contact the Service to better understand behavior and improve the Service.

• We also may collect information regarding usage of Centre Helps such as the conversation volume, average length of conversation, nature of conversations, and other data. This information is aggregated and helps us conduct internal research so we can improve the quality of our service.

DISCLOSURE TO THIRD PARTIES

At times we may make certain Personally Identifiable Information available to strategic partners that work with us.

LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMS

It’s our goal to support you in staying safe and healthy and to do so in the least invasive way possible. If a crisis counselor identifies imminent harm to yourself or someone else (you have the desire, plan, and means) or suspects abuse or neglect, they may let you know they’re concerned about your safety. At this point, they might ask you where you are or what your name is. If they feel like you might not be able to keep yourself safe, they may contact local law enforcement or EMS. We may attempt to locate you or the individual you are concerned about, but it may not always be possible.

CRISIS COUNSELORS

We operate the Service in conjunction with volunteer counselors and staff supervisors (“Crisis Counselors”). Any information, including Personally Identifiable Information, which you share with the Service may be viewed by Centre Helps staff or volunteers for quality control, to contact emergency services, or to better assist you with your crisis.

If you provide feedback through a feedback survey, that feedback may also be shared with Centre Helps’ staff and volunteers.

OUTSIDE REFERRALS

We may refer you to other programs or services. We will provide to you information and details regarding other programs and services, but we will not give them your contact information or contact them on your behalf, unless you agree to and/or request additional disclosure. If you would like to receive support from other services, please note that different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information. We do not control the privacy policies of others. We encourage you to ask questions before you disclose your Personally Identifiable Information to others.

THIRD PARTY SERVICES

If you contact us through a Third Party Service (A) both Centre Helps and the third party that runs the Third Party Service may have access to the content of the messages you share and (B) your information may be shared between us and that third party. For example, we and the third part may exchange your location information to contact local law enforcement or emergency services in an emergency.

OTHER THIRD PARTIES; LEGAL PROCESSES

In certain narrow circumstances, we may disclose Personally Identifiable Information we collect from you to additional third parties if we believe such disclosure is necessary:

(A) to comply with the law or in response to a subpoena, court order, government request, or other legal process;

(B) to protect the interests, rights, safety, or property of Centre Helps, its affiliates, employees, or agents, including but not limited to volunteers;

(D) in connection with a merger, acquisition, liquidation, or corporate divestiture of Centre Helps or its affiliates, or

(E) to address fraud, security, technical issues, or to operate the Service or its infrastructure systems properly.

Note that Centre Helps’ staff and volunteers are located in Pennsylvania and may not be licensed in your state or trained in your state’s law. Pennsylvania laws may apply to your communications and may not protect your communications to the same degree, or in the same way, as the laws of your state.

RETENTION OF INFORMATION

Centre Helps retains data for reasons including but not limited to improving the quality of our services and complying with reporting requirements set forth by our funders. Data that may contain Personally Identifiable Information may be retained for up to 7 years and will then be scrubbed. Data that does not contain Personally Identifiable Information may be retained indefinitely.

HOW WE PROTECT YOUR PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

Centre Helps takes reasonable precautions, including administrative, technical, and physical measures, to protect your Personally Identifiable Information from loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.

We employ different security techniques to protect your Personally Identifiable Information from unauthorized access, including standard encryption practices. Although we believe we take appropriate measures to safeguard against unauthorized disclosures of information, we cannot assure you that your Personally Identifiable Information or communications with Centre Helps will never be disclosed in a manner inconsistent with this policy, and make no representations or warranties regarding the sufficiency of our security measures to prevent unauthorized access or interception by third parties.

YOU SHOULD ALSO PROTECT YOURSELF

Always be careful and responsible regarding your Personally Identifiable Information. We are not responsible for, and cannot control, what others not affiliated with Centre Helps do with information you provide to them. One suggestion: you might want to delete Centre Helps’ conversations from your phone. You might even want to clear us from your history and make sure we are not saved in your contact list. Regarding instant messaging and chat services, you may want to wipe your internet browser history.

GOVERNING LAW; INTERNATIONAL USERS

These Privacy Policy and the provision of the Service is governed solely by, and shall be interpreted according to, the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania without giving effect to principles of conflict of law. Centre Helps and you both consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts applicable to State College, Pennsylvania.

SEVERABILITY; ENTIRE AGREEMENT

If a court finds any provision of this Privacy Policy to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision shall be enforced to the maximum extent possible and the remaining terms shall remain in full force and effect. This Privacy Policy, together with our terms of service, constitutes the entire agreement between you and Centre Helps, superseding any other written or oral agreements or understandings.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy or the privacy practices described here, please contact: Info@CentreHelps.org

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