‘Public Health Crisis’ Following Trump Election: 250 Percent Spike In Calls To Suicide Hotlines, Students Crippled With Depression
A “public health crisis” is plaguing the United States following Donald Trump’s election.
Phone calls made to suicide hotlines have spiked 250 percent nationwide since Trump was declared the next President of the United States.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez held a press conference Monday morning to reassure students and their families that they’ll remain protected in what’s considered a “sanctuary city” within their state. Chicago is one of several major cities within the United States which are safe havens for illegal immigrants. In spite of that, minority students are suffering from extreme anxiety and depression.
A public health crisis started up when Donald Trump was revealed as the nation’s next president. He overwhelmingly pledged to his supporters to deport millions of illegal immigrants if he was elected. The president-elect told CBS’ 60 Minutes on Sunday night that one of his first missions is to deport or incarcerate between two and three million undocumented immigrants who are “criminals.”
Emanuel and Gutierrez held the press conference at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital after the facility’s president and CEO Patrick Magoon called the alarming increase in suicide calls a “public health crisis.”
Magoon said that an enormous demand for counselors for students in colleges and schools is also going on.
@deray NEW Trump Win A ‘Public Health Crisis’ As Suicide Hotline Calls Spike: Officials https://t.co/Zi9tS9DcEK pic.twitter.com/vpKG2ZzEjR
— Justin Breen (@dnainfo_breen) November 14, 2016
A massive number of students are so paralyzed with fear, they’re unable to sleep, go to school, and are terrified of their parents being deported. In some instances, the parents of these children’s friends are offering to adopt them in the event their mother or father is deported.
Gutierrez made it know that if Trump attempts to revoke the executive order, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), he’ll interpret that as a “declaration of war.” He’s strongly against immigration reform occurring “on the backs of” Dreamers. The executive order is designed to protect 725,000 children of illegal immigrants, known as “Dreamers.”
“If we went to jail to make sure you had the executive order signed by the president of the United States, we will not allow you to come back without a voice unless they silence our voices. Before they come for you, they will have to come for us. Before they deprive you of your liberty and your freedom to express yourself and live fully in this country, they will have to deny us our freedom and our liberty to express ourselves,” Gutierrez said.
Emanuel told residents to “not despair” and that they’re safe in Chicago.
“To all those who are, after Tuesday’s election very nervous, filled with anxiety — you are safe in Chicago. You are secure in Chicago. And you are supported in Chicago. Administrations may change. But our values and principles as it relates to inclusion [do] not,” Emanuel reassured the citizens.
Huge surge in calls to suicide prevention hotline following Trump victory https://t.co/9EOoyDqIVs
— Metro (@MetroUK) November 13, 2016
CNN reported soon after the election last week that the National Suicide Prevention Hotline lit up in a way never seen before. It has since tapered off in the number of calls, but other networks have experienced the surge in calls as well. The Crisis Text Line, a service that connects texters with crisis counselors, saw eight times the normal amount of texts the day after the election. The Trevor Project is a crisis hotline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth; calls doubled after the election.
It’s not just Trump’s immigration policies that have people “scared” in the public health crisis facing the nation. Concerns over the Affordable Care Act play a role in the anxieties everyone is feeling, especially for transgender individuals who rely on hormones for surgeries they’ve had or are planning for.
The public health crisis is part of an erupting reaction to Donald Trump’s victory. The president-elect has vowed to be a president of all the people, but many living in fear aren’t so easily convinced given the tone of his rhetoric during his campaign.
[Featured Image by Billion Photos/Shutterstock]
