If you or someone you know might be at risk of suicide, you can find help in Palm Beach County, Okeechobee or the Treasure Coast
211 HelpLine can be reached by Calling:
2-1-1
(561) 383-1112
(866) 882-2991
211 Helpline can also be reached by Texting, Online Chat, or Email:>>>To Text: text your zip code to 898211 (available 24/7)
>>>Click here for Online Chat (available 10am -8pm every day)
>>>211 HelpLine via email (click on this link and scroll down)
Kate Spade’s death has the conversation of depression and suicide front and center.
Statistics show the suicide rate among women is on the rise. The CDC has released data that shows every day 28 women take their own life.
Phones at the 211 Crisis Hotline call center in Lantana are ringing more than ever before.
“The percentage of females has gone up, as well as the younger 10 to 14-year-olds. Those suicide rates have doubled in the last 10 years,” said Sharon L’Herrou.
The most recent data from 211 shows a 25 percent increase in the number of calls about suicide between 2016 and 2017.
“A lot of people who contact us that are feeling distressed or suicidal say they believe nobody cares and we know we care,” said Director and CEO of 211, Sharon L’Herrou.
After Kate Spade’s death the center saw another spike.
“People are grieving and people are thinking about the value of life and we do see in increase in calls of both people who are feeling a loss of that person they felt a connection too and also people who have thought about suicide themselves,” said L’Herrou.
South Florida resident Felicia Monroe knows first hand what it's like to lose someone to suicide. She lost her 15-year-old sister Carly in 2017.
“It’s been rough not having my youngest sister there, where I can take her for her first car drive or help her buy her first car or help her experience her first time for anything,” said Monroe.
The CDC said the suicide rate for white females was 80 percent higher in 2014 than 1999 and three to four times higher for women than any other racial and ethnic group.
“To be honest I didn’t even know what suicide was when I was in middle school,” said Monroe.
Monroe was shocked after her sister’s passing to learn more young women are taking their lives than in previous decades.
211 said if talking on the phone isn’t for you, you can text your zip code to 898-211 around the clock for support.
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