Help Save the California Warm Line

By Mark Salazar–

The month of May is Mental Health Awareness Month—a time we promote mental well-being and advocate for improvements to mental health care systems.

Many members of the LGBTQ+ community are experiencing stress and anxiety now because of some of the actions the Trump administration has taken so far this year. Transgender rights are under attack. Federal research grants for HIV and other diseases impacting sexual and gender minority groups are being cancelled. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies are under attack. They can all be too much.

One invaluable resource available to our residents is the California Peer-Run Warm Line, which provides free, non-emergency emotional support via phone, text, or chat 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s available in several languages to support a wide range of communities.

But it’s in jeopardy of closing because the current state budget proposal will barely fund our services, which have been open to all Californians since 2019, thanks to our Governor and legislative leaders who prioritized mental health and allocated state funding to our organization.

This scenario is real. Imagine that it’s 2 am. You can’t sleep because of a problem that you keep thinking about. You reach out to us, and no one answers. We’ll have to shut down if Sacramento doesn’t continue funding our program at current levels. That also means the CalHOPE and Spanish Warm Lines will be impacted.

California’s timing could not have been worse. The White House is proposing to eliminate the part of the 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline that serves LGBTQ+ youth. People will have to find other ways to get help. We’re afraid they’ll overwhelm the 911 system or turn to egregiously more expensive hospital emergency rooms. Warm lines not only save lives, but they’re also financially smart, potentially saving millions of dollars a year in ER visits.

Our counselors have helped hundreds of thousands of Californians through some major struggles, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of homes in the Los Angeles Wildfires. They’ve also heard from people with more common issues, like a job loss, family turmoil, or loneliness. Nearly 25% of all callers, texters, and online chatters identify as LGBTQ+.

The goal of a warm line is to intervene early by getting people the emotional support they need before they reach a crisis stage when a hotline, like 988, is more appropriate. On average, the California Warm Line had been contacted 20,000 times a month. In each of the last two couple months, however, that number nearly doubled, which is a testament to the need and growing demand for this kind of help. We can barely keep up with all of them as it is.

Our model for providing care is very effective. When people reach us, they get a peer counselor, someone who has had their own mental health challenges. This lived experience means they can be compassionate, empathetic, and provide the emotional support people are looking for. In fact, their work with the California Warm Line helps turn their own recovery into someone else’s lifeline.

You can help save the California Warm Line by signing our petition, urging the Governor and the State Legislature to renew our funding. To add your name, go to https://savethewarmline.org/

You can also call or email your own State Assemblymember or State Senator who represents your district. Please ask your friends, family, and neighbors to join in before the budget plan is voted on in mid-June.

For now, if you need someone to talk to or need emotional support, please call or text us at 1-855-600-WARM (9276) or to chat online with someone, go to https://www.mentalhealthsf.org/

Mark Salazar is President and CEO of the Mental Health Association of San Francisco, which oversees the California Warm Line, CalHOPE Warm Line, and the Spanish Warm Line.

Published on May 22, 2025