A good way to quickly communicate what’s coming down in the community is to build a telephone tree. It works on a pyramid system. A small core of people are responsible for placing five calls each. Each person on the line in turn calls five people and so on. If the system is prearranged correctly with adjustments made if some people don’t answer the phone, you can have info transmitted to about a thousand people in less than an hour. A slower but more permanent method is to start a Switchboard. Basically, a Switchboard is a central telephone number or numbers that anybody can call night or day to get information. It can be as sophisticated as the community can support. The people that agree to answer the phone should have a complete knowledge of places, services and events happening in the community. Keep a complete updated file. The San Francisco Switchboard (see below) puts out an operator’s manual explaining the organization and operation of a successful switchboard. They will send it out for 12¢ postage. San Francisco has the longest and most extensive Switchboard operation. From time to time there are national conferences with local switchboards sending a rep.
San Francisco
* THE SWITCHBOARD – 1830 Fell St., San Francisco, Calif. 94117 (415) 387-3575
* MUSIC SWITCHBOARD – 1826 Fell St., San Francisco, Calif. 94117 (415) 387-8008
* MISSION SWITCHBOARD – 848 14th St., San Francisco, Calif. 94110 (415) 863-3040
* CHINATOWN EXCHANGE – 1042 Grant Ave., San Francisco, Calif. 94108 (415) 421-0943
* THE HELP UNIT – 86 3rd St., San Francisco, Calif. 94103 (415) 421-9850
* WESTERN ADDITION SWITCHBOARD – Fell & Fillmore, San Francisco, Calif. (415) 626-8524
California
* CHICO SWITCHBOARD – 120 W. 2nd St., Chico, Calif. (916) 342-7546
* EAST OAKLAND SWITCHBOARD – 2812 73rd Ave., Oakland, Calif. (415)569-6369
* MARIN MUSIC SWITCHBOARD – 1017 “D” St., San Rafael, Calif. (415) 457-2104
* WEST OAKLAND LEGAL SWITCHBOARD – 2713 San Pablo, Oakland, Calif. (415) 836-3013
* SWITCHBOARD OF MARIN – 1017 “D” St., San Rafael, Calif. (415) 456-5300
* BERKELEY SWITCHBOARD – 2389 Oregon, Berkeley, Calif. (415) 549-0649
* SANTA CRUZ SWITCHBOARD – 604 River St., Santa Cruz, Calif. (408) 426-8500
* PALO ALTO XCHANGE – 457 Kingsley Ave., Palo Alto, Calif. (415) 327-9008
* SAN JOSE SWITCHBOARD – 50 S. 4th St., San Jose, Calif. (408) 295-2938
* SANTA BARBARA SWITCHBOARD – 6575 Seville, Isla Vista, Calif. (805) 968-3564
* EUREKA SWITCHBOARD – 1427 California, Eureka, Calif. (707) 443-8901 & 443-8311
* UC DAVIS SWITCHBOARD – (on campus), UC Davis, Calif. (916) 752-3495
Other Western States
* TURNSTILE – 1900 Emerson, Denver, Colorado (303) 623-3445
* BLACKHAWK INFORMATION CENTER – 628 Walnut St., Waterloo, Iowa (319) 234-9965
* TAOS SWITCHBOARD – c/o Gen. Del., Taos, New Mexico (505) 758-4288
* PORTLAND SWITCHBOARD – 1216 SW Salmon, Portland, Oregon (503) 224-0313
* HOUSTON SWITCHBOARD – 108 San Jacinto, Houston, Texas (713) 228-6072
* YOUTH EMERGENCY SERVICE – 623 Cedar Ave. So., Minneapolis, Minn. (612) 338-7588
Eastern States
* POWELTON TROUBLE CENTER – 222 N. 35th St., Phila., Penna.. (215) 382-6472
* WASHINGTON D.C. SWITCHBOARD – 2201 P St. NW, Washington, D.C. (202) 667-4684
* MIAMI CENTER FOR DIALOG – 2175 NW 26th St., Miami, Fla. (305) 634-7741
* CANTERBURY HOUSE – 330 Maynard S, Ann Arbor, Michigan (313) 665-0606
* THE LISTENING EAR – 547 E. Grand River, East Lansing, Michigan (517) 337-1717
* THE ECSTATIC UMBRELLA – 3800 McGee Kansas City, Missouri (816) 561-4524
* OPEN CITY – 4726 3rd St., Detroit, Michigan (313) 831-2770
* SWITCHBOARD INC. – 1722 Summit St., Number 6, Columbus, Ohio (614) 294-6378
* HELP – c/o Marby Beil, 1708 E. Lafayette, Number 5, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (414) 273-5959
* UNITED CHURCH PRESBYTERIAN – 181 Mount Horeb Rd., Warren, N.J. (201) 469-5044
* BOSTON SWITCHBOARD – 45 Bowdoin St., Boston, Mass. (617) 246-4255
* PROJECT PLACE – 37 Rutland St., Boston, Mass.(617)267-5280
* BEVERLY SWITCHBOARD – Beverly Hospital, Beverly, Mass. (617) 922-0000
* FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF ACTON – 8 Concord Rd., Acton, Mass. (617) 263-3940
* HALF WAY HOUSE – 20 Linwood Sq., Roxbury, Mass. (617) 442-7591
* ACID – 13 Linden Ave., Malden, Mass. (617) 342-2218
* PROJECT ASSIST – 945 Great Plain Ave., Needham, Mass. (617) 444-1902& 3
* LEXINGTON – ARLINGTON HOT LINE – 1912 Mass. Ave., Lexington, Mass. (617) 862-8130&1
* COMMUNITY YOUTH COMMISSION – 945 Great Plain Ave., Needham, Mass. (617) 444-1795
* HOT LINE – 429 Cherry St., West Newton, Mass. (617) 969-5906
Other Countries
* BINARY INFORMATION TRANSFER – 141 Westbourne Park Rd., London W2, England. Ask overseas operator for London 222-8219
* CANADIAN SWITCHBOARD – 282 Rue Ste. Catherine, West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (514) 866-2672
For a complete and up-to-date list of switchboards and similar projects around the country, write to San Francisco Switchboard. They need 25 cents to cover postage costs.