Warm lines are a form of social support and a complement to hot lines whose time has come.
In this age of social isolation, the phone is proving itself a lifeline for people with mental illness who are either too afraid or alone to connect with family or friend. Warm lines run by people in recovery from mental illness hold a special appeal for callers with the same label. Many people with mental illness refuse to call a crisis team because they are afraid they will again be committed. This means that consumers would rather wait until their crisis reaches the point where they could no longer be calmed by respite or other alternatives to hospitalization. I interviewed the director of a typical consumer-run warm line in New Hampshire.