People have been reeling from the deaths of two cultural icons who committed suicide this month: fashion designer Kate Spade and food television star Anthony Bourdain.
Though their passings are tragic, their actions do have a silver-lining – thousands more people are calling emergency hotlines compared to the same period of time before the deaths.
As news outlets were reporting on Bourdain and Spade, social media users and writers were sure to include the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255). The number connects callers to 150 help centers across the US where trained counselors are waiting on-hand to help people who may be experiencing a mental health emergency.
According to statements from the organization’s director of communications, the centers have experienced 65% more caller traffic since Spade’s and Bourdain’s deaths earlier this month. Additionally, a spokesperson for the Crisis Text Line says that caller traffic has increased by 115%.
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“In our line of work, in our world, this kind of moment happens on a smaller scale all the time,” Christine Moutier, a psychiatrist who serves as the chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, told CNN.
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