HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) -- It’s been just over four months since the High Point Public Library welcomed a social worker and a certified peer support specialist to their team. In this short period of time, they have helped many people. Since late August, They’ve had 120 interactions with people at the library. The library director says the team was much needed. The library has seen several people coming in who are experiencing a crisis. “A lot of times, people would come in who simply just needed somebody to talk to who will maybe on having some sort of emotional mental crisis ... We're not trained to do that,” High Point Library Director Mary Sizemore said. It’s been just over four months since the City of High Point has been contracting with Mental Health Associates of the Triad, which is a nonprofit based in High Point, to place a licensed social worker and a peer support specialist at the library full-time. “The past couple of months has really just been navigating how we can make the biggest impact and how we could be the most helpful for patrons,” said Emily Paparello, a social worker at the HPPL. “When you work in public libraries, your whole goal is to help people ... find the resources they need ... A lot of times, it's as simple as handing them a book or telling about our database or program ... But so many times, people are coming in with needs that we simply are not equipped as librarians to help them with, and we hate that,” Sizemore said. Around 68% of the people they’ve helped are men. Around 7% of the people they’ve helped are veterans. Many are referred by library staff. The team also walks through the library and introduces themselves to people who look like they may need help. “From the unhoused community and from the shelter community as well. They come in here regularly, so we see them there. We try to build a rapport with them,” said Eric Hector, a certified peer support specialist at HPPL. The top two services many people have needed help with are job placement and mental health concerns/seeking mental health services. They also help people who are in need of food assistance and health insurance and who are seeking substance abuse services and housing assistance. With the help of social work interns, they are also providing people in need with clothes that have been donated to the HPPL. They have had a lot of success in de-escalating situations where someone was in crisis. “All the folks that we work with, they do want help, and they do want somebody to talk to, and it's just finding that person that they can reach out to," Paparello said. At this time, the city only has a one-year contract with Mental Health Associates of the Triad to have the social worker and peer support specialists placed at the library. Library staff members say that with the positive response, they hope they will be on the team long-term.