Calls to Orlando suicide, crisis lines spike amid economic strains
Central Florida has been deluged with calls from people considering suicide or facing other mental health crises in recent months, prompting social services leaders to sound the alarm.
One source of the surge is coming from the financial pressures created by the high cost of housing, Central Florida experts said.
In April, the regional branch of the national 988 suicide and crisis line got 1,771 calls from 14 counties, the highest monthly total over the past year, 40% more than the 1,260 calls received in April 2023. Orange County alone saw 871 calls that month, up more than 200 from April 2023, data shows.
The local 988 branch, managed by Heart of Florida United Way in Orlando, handled 20,000 calls for help from April 2023 to the end of April 2024, largely from people struggling with hopelessness, loneliness, and mental health concerns.
Catherine Rea, vice president for 211 and crisis services at Heart of Florida United Way, said she thinks the increase in calls is partly due to more awareness of the service. But she says people struggling to make ends meet plays a role, too.
“Many times people are in emotional or mental crisis because they’re experiencing a financial crisis,” Rea said, citing escalating housing costs and the financial instability that can bring.
Data from 211, the region’s information line for community services shows that more than 40% of the calls in the last year, about 50,000, were from people looking for shelter, low-cost housing and rental assistance. These are similar numbers to those seen the year before by the United Way, which also manages 211.
The end of a pandemic-era law that barred states from taking people off Medicaid has left an unknown number of Floridians without health insurance, said Marni Stahlman, president and CEO of the Mental Health Association of Central Florida.
“You can’t ignore that as a factor, particularly in this community,” Stahlman said. “When you look at Central Florida as a whole, in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Brevard County, we’ve taken a pretty big hit in terms of the number of uninsured that … previously had coverage.”
About 570,000 people rely on Medicaid in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Brevard counties, according to the latest state data, down by nearly 190,000 as Florida started kicking people off the program when the federal mandate ended.
Stahlman also pointed to the U.S. protests sparked by the latest Israel-Hamas war as a contributor to the problem.
“The protests and everything else that’s going on …everyone is on a heightened state of alert related to their mental health and well-being,” Stahlman said.
Stahlman said her organization’s information and referral call center saw a 42% jump in calls over the past four months, largely driven by people looking for employment assistance, financial help, primary care doctors and behavioral health care.
The Mental Health Association also has seen increased requests from employers over the last year to provide mental health training to staff on how to cope with burnout, stress and anxiety, Stahlman said.
“Particularly among younger employees, they’re missing more work days per week due to stress and burnout and mental health struggles, which obviously leads to high productivity costs,” Stahlman said.
Both Stahlman and Rea said their organizations have invested in awareness campaigns. They’ve focused on removing the stigma from seeking help for mental health issues and promoting access to resources, especially those in underserved communities, over the past year.
Looking forward, an important question to consider is whether social services organizations can meet the demand, they said.
The Mental Health Association of Central Florida’s Outlook Clinic, which provides free mental health care to the uninsured, is almost at capacity and may need to hire more staff soon, Stahlman said.
Florida’s suicide and crisis helpline has struggled in the past to hire and maintain staff but has improved its hiring practices and ramped up wellness programs. The goal is to ensure that frontline staff have the support to deal with the difficult issues they confront every day, Rea said.
The 988 number was introduced in July 2022, replacing a national 1-800 suicide hotline number. Since then, state and federal agencies have poured millions of dollars into spreading awareness and bulking up staff and mobile response teams.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline anytime by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 24/7 at 988lifeline.org/chat/
For more information, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.
