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Calls to crisis, suicide lines increase after election

By Cox Media Group National Content Desk and Bob DAngelo
By Cox Media Group National Content Desk and Bob DAngelo
Telephone calls and text messages to crisis and suicide hotlines have been on the rise since Tuesday’s presidential election.

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When Republican Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton, some Americans — including those in the LGBTQ community — sought counseling as they grappled with feelings of anxiety and what they called a sense of betrayal.

Crisis Text Line, which links people and counselors, said that the volume of text messages increased by eight times its normal amount early Wednesday morning.
A spokesman said that “scared” was one of the most common words they came across, and it was often associated with “LGBTQ.”

John Draper, project manager of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, said his organization, founded in 2005, hasn't "seen anything like that in our history."

Draper told The Verge that between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Wednesday, the number of calls rose to 660, which is 2½ times above the average. A similar jump happened only one time before — when actor Robin Williams committed suicide in 2014.
The Trevor Project — a crisis and suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ youth — said its call volume doubled and that 95 percent of those calling wanted to talk about the election.
According to its Facebook page, Trans Lifeline received “more calls than ever before” the night of the election. An updated figure placed the number in excess of 400.
In July after the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Trump told a crowd at the Republican National Convention that if elected, he'd work to protect LGBTQ individuals "from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology."
“We have endured one of the toughest campaigns this country has ever experienced,” the Trevor Project posted on its website. “And we are now facing a new reality.
“The best thing we can all do is to channel our frustration and disappointment into helping to make progress and to being there for each other — and for our youth.”

Cox Media Group

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