Suicide and crisis lines see dramatic spike in calls during pandemic, but lack volunteers

Crisis Services Canada runs the only nationwide suicide-specific helpline in the country and they need about 100 community distress centres across Canada in order to field calls properly, according to CEO Stephanie MacKendrick.

MacKendrick said she's seen a "huge increase" in calls since the pandemic started, up about anywhere from 30-50 percent. Of that increase about 26 percent of those calls were directly related to COVID-19, since March 26. The level of severity of the calls has increased as well, causing the helpline operators to have to call emergency service because they feel the caller is at imminent risk of being harmed. When a call is made to emergency services, it is referred to as an "active rescue".

Active rescues only make up a minimal amount of interactions however there have been more active rescues this month than compared to the same month the year before, up by 62 percent. It's up by 34 percent when considering the months January-April of last year to those same months in 2020.

“We’re looking into pinpointing exactly why that is, but I think given that people are being cautioned about going to emergency rooms or calling in emergency services, a probable cause is people are not reaching out until it’s a crisis,” said MacKendrick.

Sadly, while calls to these distress centres increase, there has also been a severe decline in volunteers, down by 90 percent. Certain centres have begun paying staff to keep them on board but Crisis Service Canada's main source of revenue which provides training and workshops has been reallocated to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

MacKendrick fears that these various problems have made for the "perfect storm" in preventing the future of these helplines to aid Canadians in distress. She equated the centres to the same problems currently being faced by Canada's long-term care homes, which are often unstaffed and poorly funded.

An urgent request to Ottawa has been issued by Crisis Services Canada for $15 million in emergency funding to keep the centres open.

“In the pandemic we have discovered very quickly how important (distress centres) are and I think the realization has hit of how vulnerable that sector is,” said MacKendrick. “By intervening and having someone to talk to, it keeps people out of emergency rooms, it reduces the calls to 911 to bring in emergency services, and in a pandemic, that’s especially important.”

Executive director of the Vancouver Island Crisis Society, Elizabeth Newcombe said her centre doesn't rely on volunteers as much as others do but has said that regardless, her expenses have gone up as much as $20,000 a month since the pandemic hit. Newcombe is also involved with the Crisis Line Association of B.C., which is responsible for 14 distress centres in British Columbia.

“Other distress centres are having to pour out that money to get staff to take the calls because volunteers are not coming in, so that’s that perfect storm - increased call volume, less staff to take the calls,” said Newcombe. “We’re doing it, we’re getting those people in place, but without money, some of these distress centres will not be able to continue, they won’t have the budgets. Their services will shut down.”

“We’re nervous, we’re definitely nervous,” said Mara Grunau, executive director of the Centre for Suicide Prevention in Alberta.

She said that the research shows that suicide rates tend to go down at the beginning of economic downturns but that the cumulative effects lead to surges in numbers around 12 to 18 months later.

“It’s wonderful that the government has come out with all kinds of programs to help people with their physical needs. … But once people’s food and shelter have been taken care of, I think we’re going to see a giant emergence in people’s mental health needs. And I think what the distress centres and crisis lines are seeing is it’s already starting, it’s already emerging.”

MacKendrick said this is why those working in suicide prevention are becoming very concerned about the oncoming stress that will have to be faced in our economic system. “It’s a disaster waiting to happen. People need someone on the line when they call.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently addressed some concerns surrounding the lack of resources at services such as Kids Help Phone. Trudeau reached out directly to children who may be feeling increased tensions around the house. With that, Trudeau announced that $7.5 million to Kids Help Phone—funding that will go towards counselors and trained volunteers.