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By: Patty Wight
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A statewide phone support line for people with mental health issues will be reduced from a 24-hour service to a seven hour daily service next year under a proposed new state contract. The proposed change is drawing criticism and concern from the mental health community.
The Intentional Warm Line offers peer-to-peer phone support for people facing non-crisis mental health situations. Simonne Maline of the Consumer Council System of Maine, which represents mental health consumers, says it gets a lot of use.
“The warm line currently takes 25- to 30,000 calls a year,” Maline says. “And that’s with only two staff on during the day and evening, and one on the overnight.”