NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — An already anxious public is bracing for another month of social distancing after President Donald Trump expanded guidelines, Sunday, leaving thousands of Tennesseans unemployed and even more in isolation in Tennessee.
According to the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network, calls for help are on the rise and before Monday’s tallied numbers came out showing 13 total COVID-19 deaths in the state, more people had lost their lives to suicide than COVID-19.
State Representative Jeremy Faison told News 2 Monday that in the past couple of weeks, nine people have died by suicide.
It’s a subject, near and dear to his heart, after losing his father to suicide years ago.
His hope now is to save a life.
“You have value, you have worth, we don’t want you to hurt yourself and eventually hurt a lot of people around you,” Faison said.
Jeff Fladen, Executive Director at NAMI Tennessee, said calls are on the rise, though he doesn’t have an exact number because staff are working at home.
“People who have never thought about suicide I’m more worried about… [who have] never called a counseling line, never had treatment,” Fladen said. “I worry more about people in that group and that’s a lot of people. “Yes, there is an upsurge on calls but I think as time goes by and we lose social support and income and I think we’re just at the tip of the iceberg with that and there’s gonna be more.”
Grace Eakin from the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network confirmed to News 2 Monday that calls to crisis hotlines were up. Specifically, she said, calls were up in Davidson County among teens.
State Rep. Jeremy Faison says there are ways we, as a community, can help.
“If you’re healthy physically and emotionally right now go see your friend,” Rep. Faison said, “Check on somebody right now make sure they know they have worth as a human being and they’re here for a reason. It’s important that us, as Tennesseans, as volunteers, call your neighbor you can go and knock on their door and stay 6 feet away from them to just tell them hello.”
Help is available 24/7 through the following resources:
State Crisis Line: 1-855-CRISIS-1 (1-855-274-7471)
National Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)
Crisis Text Line: Text TN to 741 741
