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Huge Uptick In Calls To Trans Suicide Prevention Hotlines In Wake Of Trump Election
“We started getting increased call volume at about 10 p.m. on election night, and it hasn’t slowed down at all. In fact, it’s on the rise still.”
That’s Trans Hotline’s Gretta Martela, talking to Mother Jones about the recent spike in calls in the wake of Trump’s election.
“It fact,” she says. “It’s on the rise still.”
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Normally, the hotline answers roughly 100 calls a day. Now, that number is up to about 520.
100% of LGBT Americans are at risk because Mike Pence believes in conversion therapy and he’ll have more control over Trump than Trump will.
— Stats America (@StatsAmerica_) November 9, 2016
Steve Mendelsohn, deputy executive director of The Trevor Project, told Mother Jones that “ninety-five percent” of the people phoning in are “worried about the election results.”
And they’re telling us that they’re feeling anxious and scared…
They talk about things that came up during the election campaign. So a fear that perhaps gay marriage will be reversed. Or that conversion therapy will be promoted. Or that their insurance might be taken away.”
“No question a lot of transgender students and their parents woke up Wednesday morning really scared,” says Sarah McBride, Human Rights Campaign’s national press secretary.
As DNA Info reports, this news is emblematic of a greater trend that saw fa large uptick in suicide prevention hotline calls all across the nation.
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For example, such calls have increased by 200 percent in Illinois, according to Patrick Magoon, president of Lurie Children’s Hospital.
“This is clearly a public health crisis,” he said during a press conference on Monday.
Talking to CNN, John Draper of the National Suicide Prevention Hotline said, “I can’t say I’ve seen anything like this… And it’s certainly not something I’ve ever seen in an election.”
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