A helpline for those who need peer advice

Sometimes a bad day can turn into a situation that leaves you feeling isolated, anxious, or overwhelmed. Be it work problems, relationship issues, or a sense of sadness that is deeper than normal, you may feel on the precipice of breaking down and needing someone to talk to - enter the Warm Line, a service of PA 211 and the Family Service Association of Northeast Pennsylvania, or FSA.

The Warm Line is a mental health telephone support line that offers help to callers who feel not exactly in crisis, but certainly in need of an outside perspective and an ear to listen.

“The Warm Line came out of consumers of mental health services who were not in immediate crisis, but did not have a huge support system,” said Jessica Ives, Chief Program Officer of FSA. FSA provides this service under the PA 211 umbrella.“They may be going through something stressful and don’t know how to handle it, so they look to a peer responder to talk to them about what’s going on.”

These peer responders are people who have lived experience, who have accessed mental health services before and are in recovery. They don’t share their stories with clients, but instead listen to the client story and utilize their unique perspective to help.

“Instead of a case worker saying to someone, ‘Oh, I know what you’re going through,’ the peer responders really do know what the person is going through,” Jessica said.

Having these types of responders can help make initial outreach from those in need easier, given the way some parts of society still view mental health needs.

“It’s important to know that if you are going through a difficult situation, it’s ok to reach out and ask for help,” Jessica said. “Unfortunately, there’s still so much stigma surrounding mental health and seeking help; it’s disheartening, but it exists.”

Mental health services can also be hard to access when resources are stretched thin..

“In the past, and even still, if someone is going through a stressful time they may go to the emergency room or call a regular crisis line, which uses a lot of resources,” Jessica said. “Really, they may just need someone to talk to and bounce ideas off of. Mental health resources are hard to come by sometimes. Having the Warm Line is helpful in that it creates a support system that otherwise may not exist.”

And while the focus is on the callers, the Warm Line is a mutually beneficial resource.

“It’s giving everyone who calls the opportunity to be heard and have someone to lean on when they’re going through something,” Jessica said. “At the same time, it gives our peer responders a voice and to be involved at a treatment level, helping them in their recovery.”

Unlike a typical crisis hotline, the Warm Line is open during specific hours and is not meant for emergencies. You can call Monday and Tuesday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 9 p.m. Reach out at two numbers: 866-839-0445 or 570-602-3110. All calls are confidential, but please note calls from a blocked number will not be accepted. Though it is specific to Wyoming and Luzerne counties, other Pennsylvania county residents are welcome to call.

To learn more about the Family Service Association of Northeast Pennsylvania, visit https://fsawv.org/. For more on the resources 211 provides, visit https://pa211ne.org/.

Written by Sara Pokorny

Sara is a marketing, communications, and community relations professional who has worked across a variety of industries to produce engaging content. She is currently the Digital Marketing Coordinator for Fidelity Bank.