INFORMED CONSENT FOR SOUND OFF TELEPHONIC PEER SUPPORT SERVICES

(PEER SUPPORTER VERSION)

Effective Date: October 5, 2026

The Sound Off mobile application and any related customer portal (the “Application”) operated by Sound Off, Inc. (“Sound Off,” “we,” or “us”) provides a platform through which eligible users may access peer support services on an anonymous basis from trained peer supporters who have served or are currently serving in the United States armed services (“Peer Supporters”).

The Application may also make available access to counseling and support services provided by licensed counselors; however, peer support services are distinct from clinical, medical, or behavioral healthcare services. Peer Supporters are not licensed healthcare professionals and do not provide medical care, psychotherapy, diagnosis, or treatment.

When we refer to “you” or “your,” we mean the individual accessing the Application. The Application may also be made available from time to time to additional authorized populations designated by Sound Off.

Sound Off believes that the convenience and anonymity of peer support provide an important supplement to the range of community-based and public service support resources available to individuals experiencing stressors, challenges, or concerns. Through the Application, you may engage with a Peer Supporter, without charge, to discuss your situation, explore coping strategies, and, where appropriate, consider whether you may wish to seek additional in-person or professional services from unaffiliated providers.

This Informed Consent describes the peer support services you may receive through the Application using the phone or the Internet when you consult with a Peer Supporter.

Please read this carefully. By accepting this Informed Consent in the Application, (i) you acknowledge that you understand the services to be provided to you by the Peer Supporter, and (ii) you consent to receive those services from a Peer Supporter through the phone or internet on the terms described in this Informed Consent.

Benefits and Risks of Telephonic Peer Support

Because our Application is based upon providing peer support services to veterans and active service members in which you remain anonymous, we do not offer videoconferencing or other visual telephonic support services.

Following are some of the benefits and risks with the Sound Off Program.

Benefits

Anonymous and Convenient. The principal benefit of the Sound Off Application and its dependence upon remote access through voice conferencing or telephone is that it provides a platform for you to confidentially and on an anonymous basis seek peer support services to explore stressors, challenges, or concerns that may be of significance to you, without (i) the necessity of setting or attending in-person appointments that might signal to your employers, family members or friends concerns that you have before you are prepared to discuss such concerns with them, and (ii) the expense of paying deductibles, co-payment obligations or other charges for such support services.
Remote Services. Another of the benefits of telephonic peer support is that you and the Peer Supporter can engage in services without being in the same physical location. This can be helpful in ensuring continuity of your particular peer support relationship if you or the Peer Supporter moves to a different location, takes an extended vacation, or is otherwise geographically remote. It is also more convenient and takes less time.

Risks

Confidentiality. Because telephonic support sessions take place outside of a private office setting, there is potential for other people to overhear sessions if you are not in a private place during the session. It is important for you to make sure you find a private place for your session where you will not be interrupted. It is also important for you to protect the privacy of your session on your cell phone or other device. You should participate in a telephonic peer support session on the Application only while in a room or area where other people are not present and cannot overhear the conversation. The Peer Supporter with whom you are connected and consult through the Application will take reasonable steps on his or her end to ensure your privacy.
Issues Related to Technology. There are many ways that technology issues might impact the services you receive through telephonic peer support. For example, telephonic voice-over-internet support requires technical competence on the part of both you and the Peer Supporter to be helpful. In addition, technology may stop working during a session, other people might be able to get access to your private conversation, or stored data could be accessed by unauthorized people or companies.
Crisis Management and Intervention. If you currently or in the future are in a crisis situation requiring high levels of support and intervention, your Peer Supporter will be limited in the kind of support that he or she can provide. Because of the constraints provided by your anonymity in terms of name and location, the Peer Supporter will continue to provide helpful peer support advice and feedback but may also encourage you to seek any in-person treatment that it appears would be advisable. Before engaging in telephonic peer support, you and your Peer Supporter will develop an emergency response plan to address potential crisis situations that may arise during your consultation with the Peer Supporter. In particular, you may access the link to the Veterans Crisis Line, 988 (Press 1), on the Sound Off Application at any time you think appropriate, including by interrupting a Sound Off consultation to do so.
However, notwithstanding any confidentiality obligations otherwise applicable in the event that your Peer Supporter does become aware of personally identifiable information and also becomes aware of a reasonably foreseeable harm to you or others in the course of your consultation, your Peer Supporter may disclose information about you only to medical or law enforcement personnel and only if the Peer Supporter determines that there is a probability of imminent physical injury by you to yourself or to others or there is a probability of immediate mental or emotional injury to you.
Efficacy of Services. Many counselors, including volunteer nonprofessional ones, believe that something is lost by not being in the same room while providing support services to a client. For example, there is debate about a counselor’s ability to fully understand and most effectively respond to non-verbal information when working remotely, particularly in a telephone-only setting.

Confidentiality

Peer Supporters with whom you consult through the Sound Off Application have an ethical responsibility to use their best efforts to protect all communications that are a part of your telephonic peer support sessions. However, neither Sound Off nor the Peer Supporter can guarantee that any submissions, or the transactions conducted on or through the Application, are or will be totally secure. The nature of electronic communications technologies is such that Sound Off cannot guarantee that your communications will be kept confidential or that other people may not gain access to your communications. Sound Off intends to use updated encryption methods, firewalls, and back-up systems to help keep your information private, but there is always a risk that your electronic communications may be compromised, unsecured, or accessed by others. You should also take reasonable steps to ensure the security of your communications (for example, only using secure networks for telephonic peer support sessions and having passwords to protect the device you use for such support sessions). You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your User Name and any other user identifier or other unique name or number assigned to you (collectively, your “User ID”) and any password used in connection with your use of the Application. You are fully responsible for all access and any activity that occurs through use of your User ID or password. Sound Off is not and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from any unauthorized access or use of your User ID or password. See also Sound Off’s “Privacy Policy” contained on the Application. Should you choose to disclose or inadvertently disclose identifying information in the text, please use the “clear history” function of the text exchange.

Records

Your telephonic peer support sessions with the Peer Supporter will not be recorded in any way unless agreed to in writing by mutual consent of you and the Peer Supporter with whom you consult. The Peer Supporter may maintain a record of your session.

Understanding and Consent

I understand that neither Sound Off nor the Peer Supporter has made or is making any representation that the support and services I receive through the Application are comparable to the support or services I may receive in a face-to-face or in-patient relationship with a licensed mental health professional. I further understand that if I am struggling and am open to pursuing such an in-person relationship with a Counselor or other licensed professional, my Peer Supporter will do everything possible to assist me in doing so.

I acknowledge and agree that neither Sound Off nor the Peer Supporter has made any warranty or guaranty of a successful outcome or resolution of my concerns through the telephonic peer support services of the Sound Off Application, just as no such warranty or guaranty of a successful outcome or resolution of your concerns could be provided by even a mental health licensed professional providing in-person services or treatment.

I understand that I may need certain computer or cell phone systems to use the telephonic peer support services accessible through the Sound Off Application. I further understand that I am solely responsible for any costs related to the purchase or lease of any necessary equipment, accessories, or software to take part in such support sessions.

Your Peer Supporter may not regularly check his or her Application, email or texts, nor respond immediately, so the Application should not be used if you are experiencing a crisis or an emergency. If you are unable to reach your Peer Supporter and feel that you cannot wait for him or her to return your call, you should contact your family physician or the nearest emergency room and ask for the psychologist or psychiatrist on call, or please contact the Veterans Crisis Line, 988 (Press 1) or text 838255.

If the session is interrupted for any reason, such as the technological connection fails, and you are having an emergency, do not call Sound Off or your Peer Supporter back; instead, call 911, or please contact the Veterans Crisis Line, 988 (Press 1) or text 838255, or go to your nearest emergency room.