Need a sympathetic ear? Call the Warm Line
We have all heard of a “crisis line,” the line to call when one cannot go on because of an emotional, physical, psychological or psychiatric problem. Not all problems are monumental, but most require “someone to talk to.”
I had a conversation with Sharron Hedenkamp of The Meeting Place Clubhouse in San Diego, which operates the Warm Line for callers who are not in crisis. The Warm Line has been in existence in San Diego County for 10 years. It has nothing to do with the weather, but much to do with people and their internal weather.
It is a non-crisis phone service that is a complement to the county’s Access and Crisis Line, our emergency services. It is also a connection, a telephone line that anyone who is troubled but not in crisis, can dial and find trained active listeners who will offer not only their ears, but knowledge of the community and can offer resource guidance and referrals for someone in pain, discomfort, depression, anxiety or isolation.
Too frequently, the caller in crisis is isolated and lonely and simply wants to talk to a patient listener. We call that friendly support. For someone who does not have a friend, because many of us elders have lost our friends and listeners, a phone call to the Warm Line will provide a long-distance supportive friendship that helps take the edge off of the isolation.
Hedenkamp estimates that 65 percent of her Warm Line callers are repeat dialers, folks who call regularly. There is one woman who will call with an issue to discuss and then call back later to sing good night. I guess she has no one to tuck her in, and the phone call works. The trained people on the Warm Line are happy to respond to her “good night.”
The line is open from 3:30 to 11 p.m. daily. It was developed when the crisis lines were overwhelmed. Often, the callers to the county crisis line were not experiencing emergencies, so the call was more suited to the Warm Line. But if the Warm Line listeners find that the caller is in crisis, there is a special link on the phone that will lead to a crisis line immediately.
Information about the Warm Line can be obtained from help or information services, and a word-of-mouth endorsement is its own hotline. Hedenkamp constantly reminds her staff that their voice may be the only human voice some callers hear all day. That is why the qualities of active listening, compassion and patience are vital to the line’s success.
Active listening is a phrase that sounds like an oxymoron. What exactly is it? It is more than nodding our head and saying we understand. Active listeners will often paraphrase the callers’ words in attempt not only to further their personal understanding, but also to help the ones with problems clarify their own issues. The listener wants to make sure they are on the same page; he or she needs to know that both parties understand and hear the same thing. It sheds light for both and certainly opens a way for the troubled individual to find a solution.
Who are the trained listeners? According to a recent Warm Line flier, they are “consumers in recovery from a mental illness, motivated to reach out and help their peers.” As I have already indicated, they are fully trained in active listening, resource finding and identifying a crisis. These peer counselors work in 3½-hour shifts. There is always a clinical consultant on board to provide extra training and professional guidance when needed. No one has all the answers, and it is a comfort to know that there is another pair of ears to listen when the phone counselor hits a snag.
The Meeting Place is an agency serving those with mental health disorders. The Warm Line is one of its resources. The idea for the Warm Line came from the community at a time when the crisis hotlines were overwhelmed with calls, including nonemergencies. Since its inception, it has been an important addition to the score of services provided and funded by the county.
Anyone who is lonely, sad, perhaps recovering from a mental illness, wishing for someone to talk to, or someone to listen, can call the Warm Line at (800) 930-9276. If you have called the wrong number, the listener will help find the right one.