April 10, 2019
Featured on The Mighty: Real Stories from the Other End of a ‘Warm Line’
On the other end of our Peer-Run Warm Line are counselors with lived experiences with mental health challenges. Some have been homeless, imprisoned, or hospitalized. With this wealth of first-hand experience, our counselors can provide emotional support to callers who have been in similar types of distress.
We teamed up with The Mighty to share the real stories of our past and present Warm Line counselors:
People call when they’re on the way to work. It’s 8:00 in the morning. You can hear them driving, literally. They’re on their way to work to see their boss, or they got something big going on at work. They’re dealing with some kind of anxiety or need to talk. About 10 minutes later, they say “Oh, OK, I’m here. I feel better.”
Man, that feel good! Or if you have somebody call you and they’re in a distressful moment and they remember you. “Dewonna, thank you so much!” I used to hear that a lot, for me and my other co-workers. “Thank you for helping me through that.” Man, that is rewarding. No amount of money can make you feel like that.
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