Mental health group starts Warmline
Published 10:25 am Thursday, May 8, 2008
A non-profit mental health organization’s toll-free helpline recently opened in Austin may reduce the number of hospital visits and save Mower County services dollars in the long-run, its staff said.
The Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Network of Minnesota (CSN) started its Warmline, now one of seven statewide, a few weeks ago for those with mental health conditions who want support. Operators will listen, chat, problem-solve, inform and refer callers, who will always remain anonymous.
“It’s confidential — there’s no Caller I.D.,” said Warren Gillis, one of six Warmline staff in Austin. A line opened in the past couple years in Rochester has been “very successful,” he said.
Denny Breza of Kasson, a CSN regional resource coordinator, said callers can utilize the Warmline for any number of questions or to discuss any range of topics; however, it is not a crisis line.
“We’re not doctors, we’re not lawyers, we’re not therapists,” Breza explained. “We’re trying to give support to callers.”
“Money, debt, divorce, medication,” Gillis said. “We don’t tell them what to do. A lot of people don’t have anyone to talk to.”
Breza said Warmlines have been proven to reduce hospital costs and save money by providing a central location to direct calls that may otherwise have gone to police or hospitals. Mower County, CSN and the CREST Mental Health Initiative are funding Austin’s line.
“I would have to say Mower County is very involved in mental health,” Breza said. “Because of that, this was an ideal location.”
CSN has other Warmlines in Rochester, St. Cloud, the Twin Cities, Marshall, the Arrowhead region, Alexandria and later this month in Winona County.
Austin’s CSN Warmline number is (800) 869-9896 and open from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.
For more information about the Warmline, visit the Mental Health Consumer/Survivor Network of Minnesota’s Web site at www.mhcsn.net.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 26.2 percent of Americans age 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year.