Didi Hirsch's Suicide Crisis Line in Los Angeles has seen a surge in calls amid the coronavirus pandemic, with top concerns including "anxiety, stress, fear of eviction, inability to paying utilities and take care of family, unemployment, health concerns, or losing loved ones to the virus," reports the U.K.'s Daily Mail.
The suicide line is an extension of Didi Hirsh's Mental Health Services non-profit organization, which is based in Culver City and has been active for 70 years.
The hotline has received more than 1,500 calls about coronavirus, and calls are expected to skyrocket in the coming weeks, says Lyn Morris, senior vice president of clinical operations for Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services.
"We've taken over 1,500 calls already in March just specifically related to the coronavirus, and I do believe that will continue to increase," she told the news outlet.
"Our history with things like this, like in the 2008 recession, the first couple of weeks it's a little hard to gauge call volume because everybody's in shock, taking care of their basic needs first.
"Then the weeks after are usually when we start to see the call volume really increase.
"Two weeks from now, we're probably going to see a big increase as the fear, the anxiety builds, and as the death toll from coronavirus rises we would expect that," she added.
A senior federal reserve official last week said unemployment could hit 30% in the months ahead as the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the U.S. economy.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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