Lived Experience Forum

[-Rayne-]

does anybody know this? you go to a webchat and then somehow the police find your phone number and then your address. how does that happen?

[Former-Member]

That is unusual @-Rayne- Someone would of had to have reported it and the police can trace a person through technology quite easily.

[Queenie]

I've used webchat and telephone helplines and while tracking is usually fairly simple (for webchat they use your IP address). They don't routinely track users to inform emergency services unless there are circumstances which warrant that decision (there are reasons to believe someone's life is in immediate danger). 

Be rest assured @-Rayne- it isn't a practice that is done normally.

[Zoe7]

Each service such as lifeline etc. have protocols in place to determine levels of risk with callers/users/clients @-Rayne- There are various levels they need to go through in order to alert emergency services. This is only done when someone is seen to be at immediate risk to themselves or others. Once that risk has been assessed as an 'imminent threat' then emergency services are notified. All 'services' have a duty of care to clients and therefore if someone says they are going to harm themselves or someone else then that service has a duty to report that.

[-Rayne-]

So the phone/internet company tells them?

It happened to me the other night. I'm just trying to figure out how. I think they got our phone number first because the next day I saw a text saying call the police station. But then they turned up at the door. 

I don't think I told the chat people where I was.

[-Rayne-]

i'm also kind of pissed off because we asked the person if they knew who we was and they said no. i feel like they lied. not that it was a disaster i guess because they let us out the next day but we wasted some good meds that we had been saving. they should tell people that they will do that.

[-Rayne-]

going to keep talking to myself here because it's better for me than posting to people. and i don't know if what i say would actually make sense to people who are real.

i don't understand how everything can go from fine to shit with no reason. there should be a reason. i'm afraid of myself again. like before but why just suddenly now. how can i be what i am and also be this. the people who see some of the shit i've turned to also ask me why so i know this isn't just me who thinks there should be a reason. but there is none. sometimes i make something up. sometimes i tell them there's no reason. whatever. they don't even matter because if i'm not real then neither are they.

maybe it's like a circle of each time this happens you get closer to the centre and the centre is the end. if so then i've done this enough that there may not be to many more. that feels right and good. everything has its end.

[-Rayne-]

it gets worse. i called qlife who was the chatline and they swear they have no capacity to track people unless they give their phone number or address:

"QLife could have done it, but only if you told them to. Weird, huh? Like you have a separate you in your head that looks after your survival or something?"

so fuck. i can't even od without interference/ 

[Former-Member]

Hi @-Rayne-

I am sorry to hear you went through that. I have been through something similar.

I went on chat with Beyond Blue quite awhile ago just for some added support that I needed that night. Whilst speaking to them, I let them know that on that night I was not suicidal but had SH. They said to go to hospital. I said I didn't need to, had been able to attend to myself and was safe and fine at that stage.

Well 20 minutes after I got off chat, I had police at my front door asking for me and talking about someone with my name wanting to commit suicide. Well I was FURIOUS. It made everything a lot worse and afterwards did start having suicidal thoughts. Luckily the police realised I was ok and did not make me go to hospital. I actually put in a formal complaint to Beyond Blue about it. I am now very hesitant to speak to anyone on chat for the fear that this will happen again. I only now use SANE or SCBS. I am sorry if this is all about me, but I wanted to let you know that you are not the only one. They used my IP address to find out where I lived.

[-Rayne-]

thanks @Former-Member yeah I am dissapointed and annoyed and it makes less safe. Before i was messy but dealing and now i am not. i feel like they are more concerned about avoiding liability than helping people. its not right