Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon, Help Save The California Warm Line

Help Save The California Warm Line

The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month – a time we promote mental
well-being and advocate for improvements to mental health care systems.

One invaluable resource available to our residents is the California Peer-Run Warm Line,
which provides free, non-emergency emotional support via phone, text or chat 24
hours a day, seven days a week. It’s available in several languages to support a wide
range of communities.

While San Franciscans have had this service available since 2014, it went statewide in
2019, thanks to our governor and legislative leaders like westside resident, former
Assemblymember Phil Ting – all of whom had the foresight to prioritize mental health
by allocating state funding to our organization so that it’s accessible to anyone in our
state.

The expansion has sure paid off. Since then, our counselors have helped tens of
thousands of Californians through some major struggles: the COVID-19 pandemic,
hate against the Asian-American community and the loss of homes in the Los Angeles
wildfires. They have also heard from people with more common issues, like a job loss,
family turmoil or loneliness.

The goal of a warm line is to intervene early by getting people the emotional support
they need before they reach a crisis stage when a hotline, like 988, is more
appropriate. On average, the California Warm Line had been contacted 20,000 times a
month. But just last month, however, that number nearly doubled, which is a testament
to the need and growing demand for this kind of help. San Francisco consistently ranks
among the top five counties where callers, texters and online chatters live.

So, imagine that it’s 2 a.m. and you can’t sleep because of a problem that you keep
thinking about. You reach out to us, and no one answers. That’s a very real possibility.
Our state funding ends soon, and we’ll have to shut down if Sacramento doesn’t continue funding our program. That also means the CalHOPE and Spanish Warm
Lines will go dead.

People will have to find other ways to get help. We’re afraid they’ll overwhelm the 911
system or turn to egregiously more expensive hospital emergency rooms. Warm lines
not only save lives, but they’re also financially smart, potentially saving millions of
dollars a year in ER visits.

Our model for providing care is very effective. When people reach us, they get a peer
counselor, someone who has had their own mental health challenges. This lived
experience means they can be compassionate, empathetic and provide the emotional support people are looking for. In fact, their work with the California Warm Line helps
turn their own recovery into someone else’s lifeline.

You can help save the California Warm Line by signing our petition, urging the
governor and the State Legislature to renew our funding. Go to savethewarmline.org to add your name. San Francisco’s westside residents can also contact their legislators, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani and State Senator Scott Wiener, asking them to keep our services available. Please ask your friends, family and neighbors to join in.

For now, if you need someone to talk to or need emotional support, please call or text
us at 1-855-600-WARM (9276) or go to mentalhealthsf.org to chat online with someone.

Mark Salazar is President and CEO of the Mental Health Association of San Francisco, which oversees the California Warm Line, CalHOPE and the Spanish Warm Line.