“Talking with you today has given me hope, thank you!”
“You 150% understand where I am coming from, thank you for listening.”
“I’m proud of myself for calling and talking to you today because I haven’t been able to share how I feel with anyone.”
“I’m so thankful for the WARMLine. It was so helpful for me to talk it out tonight.”
“Speaking with you today has truly helped me, this is a significant service.”
These are all direct quotes from recent callers to Pro Bono Counseling’s mental health WARMLine.
If you’re feeling extremely stressed and don’t know where to turn, help is just a phone call away. The Pro Bono Counseling Project (PBCP) created its mental health WARMLine to support Maryland residents who are experiencing mental health impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anyone experiencing sadness, stress, or anxiety about the current pandemic or other current issues can call 410.598.0234 to be connected with a trained mental health professional for support. The WARMLine is available weekdays from 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM and weekends from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. WARMLine representatives listen to concerns, provide telephone-based support and interventions, and refer callers to any additional resources they may need.
PBCP Executive Director Amy Greensfelder, LMSW, said, “The WARMLine provides a way for people to get emotional support, in the moment they need it. People are experiencing stress from so many different angles right now—we’re all thinking about how to keep our families safe and healthy, we’re worried about finances and how to pay the bills, there are just so many unknowns. The WARMLine provides a way for people to have supportive conversations about all these different concerns facing all of us.”
According to the September 2020 Journal of the American Medical Association, COVID-19 tripled the rate of depression in US adults in all demographic groups—especially in those with financial worries—and the rise was much higher than after previous major traumatic events. Individuals with limited incomes often have difficulty accessing mental health services. PBCP’s WARMLine was created to address this unprecedented mental health need.
Another recent caller stated, “I am so glad I called and you were able to help me. I was really having a hard time…I appreciated you listening to what I was going through.”
PBCP’s WARMLine is not a substitute for crisis services or ongoing therapy but is a means of support for anyone who is not in an immediate mental health crisis. The WARMLine can serve as an intermediate step to connecting individuals for therapy as necessary and can connect callers to crisis services. Its staff also follow up with callers by calling back to check in with them.
To reach PBCP’s mental health WARMLine, call 410.598.0234.
Since its founding in 1991, the Pro Bono Counseling Project (PBCP), a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, has helped over 30,000 individuals and families throughout Maryland connect with volunteer counselors and obtain the mental health care they could not otherwise afford. Presently, PBCP has over 800 volunteer clinicians all over the state of Maryland who give over 12,000 hours of their time each year.
If you’d like to support PBCP, please click here to make an online, tax-deductible gift.
