CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – People across North Carolina have new mental health resources at their fingertips.
The Statewide Peer Warmline is a number people can call when they need to talk to someone about mental health issues, substance abuse or other issues.
It has been a resource for Mecklenburg County since the start of the pandemic in 2020, but has now expanded to serve the entire state.
A ribbon-cutting celebration was held Tuesday morning at Promise Resource Network on Hawthorne Lane in east Charlotte.
The Warmline is completely anonymous and allows individuals to talk to peers who have experienced similar issues to those they are facing.
In 2020, Warmline received over 35,000 calls from all over the world and didn’t have the resources to keep up with that volume.
However, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services received additional funding from the state that will provide resources to expand this service across the state.
Warmline does not replace, but works in conjunction with, the North Carolina 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Cherine Karako is promise resource network, based in Mecklenburg County, operates Warm Line. She says people often don’t want to call 988 for fear of police or clinicians getting involved.
Karako said people can call the warm line and talk to fellow North Carolinians without fear.
“When people call us, they call us for a variety of reasons: they’ve lost their job and don’t know what to do, they’re having conflicts at home, they’re thinking about suicide, they’re having trouble. .It’s a really bad day. I’m experiencing domestic violence. Could you please hold the phone while I go home?” Karako said. “There are so many reasons why people want to call and talk to someone who understands. Even I can’t sleep at night.”
The phone number is 1-855-733-7762. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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