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Mentally ill in Mahoning Valley get empathetic ear
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Lorna Slaughter, a mental-health consumer and volunteer from Wellsville, answers the ceremonial first call Tuesday of Help Hotline Crisis Center’s new Peer Warm Line.
YOUNGSTOWN
Peer Warm Line, a new telephone-support service for mentally ill residents staffed by others recovering from mental illness, is active.
The part-time Peer Warm Line was created to offer inspiration and support, information, referral and assistance to those suffering from mental illness, said Duane Piccirilli, chief executive, Help Hotline Crisis Center.
It is supported by Help Hotline, Mahoning County Mental Health Board, Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board.
The new service, launched Tuesday, is further evidence of the value added to the community by Help Hotline Crisis Center, said Tracy J. Plouck, director of the Ohio Department of Mental Health.
The funding to develop and sustain the service came from several sources, Piccirilli said.
The Kennedy Family Fund of the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley gave $5,000 in start-up money, and the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation of Hudson has committed $10,000 beginning July 1, he said.
The Mahoning County Mental Health Board is offsetting the cost of the peer-recovery coordinator position, and Help Hotline is building into its budget funding requests from the Columbiana County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board.
“I think it’s a great addition to continuum of care. It is a peer-to-peer telephone listening in which people recovering from mental illness provide an empathetic ear to others with mental illness and drug and alcohol problems,” Piccirilli said.
A cadre of about a dozen listeners, such as Jessica Williamson of Campbell, went through telephone-listening training, that included role-playing. It stressed providing positive feedback to callers and referring them to Help Hotline at 211 if they think it is a crisis or if referral for services is indicated.
“There are a lot of people who need someone to talk to. All the calls are confidential. They can always feel safe talking to us,” she said.
Williamson said she went through a program at Help Hotline that let her know she was not “in the boat by myself. The worst feeling in the world is to feel like you are alone.”
The Peer Warm Line is not designed to replace Help Hotline’s crisis line. Rather, it offers a less-formal environment to help a caller through a tough time or situation, “especially for those who would benefit from talking with someone who’s experienced something similar,” said Diane Baytosh, peer-support coordinator.
Peer Warm Line hours are 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. The telephone number is 1-866-303-PEER (7337). Peer Warm Line volunteers from Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties will answer phones Monday and Friday in Mahoning County and at Shining Reflections in East Liverpool on Tuesdays and Thursdays.