Warm Lines: An alternative to hospitalization

They suggest soft, fuzzy images, but do not be deceived: warm lines are proving a powerful approach to reducing hospitalization. Warm lines are a form of social support and a complement to hot lines whose time has come. In this age of social isolation, the phone is proving itself a lifeline for people with mental illness who are either too afraid or alone to connect with family or friend. A survey in New Hampshire recently showed that warm lines reduced the use of crisis teams by 60%. Similarly, a Boston crisis team estimated that they could refer 75% of their callers to a warm line.

Warm lines run by people in recovery from mental illness hold a special appeal for callers with the same label. Many people with mental illness refuse to call a crisis team because they are afraid they will again be committed. Indeed a survey of previously hospitalized consumers by the Well Being Project in 1987 found that 47% of them refused to even contact a clinic due to the trauma of hospitalization. This means that consumers would rather wait until their crisis reaches the point where they could no longer be calmed by respite or other alternatives to hospitalization.

I interviewed the director of a typical consumer-run warm line in New Hampshire. He stated that they grew out of the expressed need of club members to have support available after the club closed. These members felt unsafe calling the crisis team. The warm line operates with a different person receiving calls each day. They are given training and supervision by the director of the club. He stated that an unexpected benefit has been the preparation and motivation the job has provided to the workers. Several of them have gotten full-time jobs and have gotten off disability.

We receive a number of calls on our 800 number that could best be handled by a warm line. I recently received a call from a consumer who was feeling more paranoid. He said it started when he learned that his wife was pregnant. I shared with him how I went through similar feelings when my wife was pregnant. This sharing helped him feel human again and his paranoia started to subside. I offered to send him some tapes but I wish I could have referred him to a warm line in his area. But there wasn't even a social club. We would like to create a national directory of warm lines so that in the future we could refer our callers in distress to a line near them. Please contact us if you have any information about warm lines in your area.

National Empowerment Center - Articles

Warm Lines: An alternative to hospitalization