NC Launches Additional Phone Line for People Experiencing Mental Illness or Substance Use Disorder

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is launching a new Statewide Peer Warmline on Feb. 20, 2024. The new Peer Warmline will work in tandem with the North Carolina 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by giving callers the option to speak with a Peer Support Specialist. Peer Support Specialists (or “peers”) are people living in recovery with mental illness and/or substance use disorder who provide support to others who can benefit from their lived experience.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony to raise awareness for the new support line will take place on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Promise Resource Network respite facility in Charlotte. A media Q&A will immediately follow. 

The statewide Peer Warmline is a phone line staffed by Peer Support Specialists who offer non-clinical support and resources to those in crisis. Their unique expertise helps reduce stigma while strengthening overall engagement in care. Like 988, North Carolina’s peer warmline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Starting Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, people in need of assistance and wanting to speak with a peer can call the warmline at 1-855-PEERS NC (1-855-733-7762), and people who call 988 will have the option to connect with the Peer Warmline if they prefer to speak with a peer.

The statewide Peer Warmline will be run by the Promise Resource Network (PRN), a peer-run organization in Mecklenburg County. PRN was awarded the contract following a competitive public bidding process. 

Press release.