(The Center Square) –
With high unemployment and an economy ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, some
first responders said calls for suicide attempts are becoming far too
familiar.
The number of deaths
among Black people in Cook County has already matched the total for all of last
year. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the numbers are grim.
“The reality is this
is a very difficult time in our city,” Lightfoot said. “There are many, many people,
before COVID but certainly since, that are suffering from trauma.”
The Illinois
Department of Public Health reported preliminary numbers that show there have
been 601 suicides in Illinois so far this year, but that does not include a
month-to-month breakdown. There were 1,400 suicides in all of 2019, according
to the department.
In Peoria, first
responders said they are getting more calls reporting people threatening to
jump off bridges into the Illinois River. It happened twice recently, and in
one of those incidents, the outcome was fatal. Battalion Chief Jim Bachman with
the Peoria Fire Department said in some cases, a senior member of the
department, who has encountered the situation many times, will make contact
with the person.
"Years of
experience in talking with people who are suffering from depression and just
kind of listening to what they have to say and letting them know that people
care about them,” Bachman said.
The U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention has warned the pandemic could be stressful for
people. Fear and anxiety about the virus and what could happen can be
overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Psychiatric
Times reported once the pandemic ends, the psychological after-effects will
likely linger for years to come.
“Historically,
increases in rates of severe mental illnesses have often followed in the
aftermath of national crisis," Dr. James Lake wrote. "For example, during the decade
of the Great Depression from 1929 to 1929, the suicide rate rose from 13.9 to
17.4 per 100,000.”
The National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.