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July 30, 2010
Suicide Calls In Houston Soar Amid Difficult Economy.
The Houston Chronicle (7/21) reports "suicide-related calls to Crisis Intervention of Houston have surged since the economic downturn began a few years ago, with the number of calls tripling in the first half of 2010 compared with the first six months of last year."
Counselors "attribute the spike" to the "prolonged pressures of extended joblessness, depleted savings and expired unemployment benefits." Shari Koziol, Crisis Intervention's executive director, said, its crisis hotline "received 451 suicide-related calls in the first half of 2009 and 1,446 over the same period this year." Scott Hickey, a clinical psychologist at Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County, said, "We have reports at our neuropsychiatric center that we have had about a 30 percent increase
in crisis visits in the last year."
Related Links:
- Houston crisis center awash with suicide calls," Cindy George, The Houston Chronicle, July 20, 2010.
Posted by admin at July 30, 2010 11:13 PM