By Anna Kaminski, Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — The state suicide and crisis hotline received a record number of calls a day following the election, with LGBTQ+ and Spanish-speaking lines seeing especially high traffic.
Vibrant, the mental health company that administers Kansas’ 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, reported a one-day call record of 169 calls on Nov. 6, said Cara Sloan-Ramos, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.
The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
Crisis Text Line is a texting service for emotional crisis support. To speak with a trained listener, text HOME to 741741. It is free, available 24/7 and confidential.
The largest increases in call volumes occurred on the LGBTQ+ and Spanish lines, Sloan-Ramos said.
President-elect Donald Trump has promised upon taking office a crackdown on immigration, especially undocumented Mexican and Latin and Central American immigrants, through mass deportation. Plus, GOP gains in the Kansas Legislature open up new opportunities for anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
“One of the things we know about suicide and suicidal behavior is that it is rarely connected to one circumstance but instead is most often a result of multiple factors, so correlation doesn’t exactly indicate causation,” Sloan-Ramos said in an email.
The statewide hotline received an average of 67 calls per day in November 2023 and about 53 calls daily in November 2022, according to data from Vibrant. The LGBTQ+ line, which launched in July 2023, received an average of six calls per day in its first eight months of operation. Average call volumes on the Spanish-speaking line are even lower, at about one call per day, according to 2023 metrics.
Vibrant offers tips for coping with election stress on its website.
“When feelings of anxiety occur due to major national, regional, or community events like elections, it can exacerbate other anxieties people may be having that are not necessarily related to that event,” said an Oct. 17 blog post from Vibrant. “Memories of anxiety may also be triggered by such events, adding to current stress.”
Some tips include seeking social support, sticking to routines and balancing election-related media consumption.
Launched in July 2020, Kansas Reflector is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Kansas Reflector retains full editorial independence.
