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Crisis Hotlines Flooded With Calls After Celebrity Suicides

"Since these two famous suicides, a lot of people don't know how to handle this," one crisis center volunteer said

When two celebrities, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, took their lives last week, phone numbers for suicide hotlines became ubiquitous in news outlets and on social media.

NBC News reported that it brought a surge of calls to crisis hotlines, some of which boosted staffing twice last week.

Volunteer suicide prevention group Samaritans of Greater Boston saw calls increase 60 percent between Wednesday, when Spade died, through Saturday, after Bourdain died, over the recent average.

"Since these two famous suicides, a lot of people don't know how to handle this, so it's great that they pick up the phone and they call the hotlines," said Angie Kitchell, a volunteer at the Long Island Crisis Center.

SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: Here is information on suicide prevention from the National Institute of Mental Health. If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting ‘Home’ to 741741.

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