It’s not a hotline, it’s a ‘warmline’: It gives mental health help before a crisis heats up

It’s not a hotline, it’s a ‘warmline’: It gives mental health help before a crisis heats up

Posted on December 4, 2019

Unlike a hotline for those in immediate crisis, warmlines provide early intervention with emotional support that can prevent a crisis – and a more costly 911 call or ER visit. The lines are typically free, confidential peer-support services staffed by volunteers or paid employees who have experienced mental health conditions themselves. "It's unimaginable, hard to conceptualize, for those who don't work in this field, what the level of need really is," said Quinn Anderson, who manages the NAMI HelpLine.