Ontario-based Muslim youth help line sees 'unprecedented' rise in callers from Quebec

'Mental health catastrophe': Muslim helpline beset Naseeha's Youth Helpline saw a spike of callers in distress, particularly from Quebec. The group say Islamophobia and Bill 21 are to blame.

Over the last year, Naseeha, a mental health hotline based in Mississauga, Ont., has seen a substantial increase in the number of calls it received.

Even more substantial has been the growth in calls received from people in Quebec, according to the organization’s executive director, Muhsin Kermalli. In a statement recently shared on Twitter, Naseeha said these calls involve people experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts.

Since its launch in 2006, Kermalli said the organization has never seen so many calls coming from Quebec in a single year. Naseeha is now ringing the alarm bells over what it believes is the beginning of a “mental health catastrophe.”

“Overall, our volume has gone up about three [times] in the last year…which is unprecedented for us,” Kermalli told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Tuesday. “But specifically with Quebec, we've seen an 800 per cent increase in volume.”

Kermalli said that the organization has received a total of between 300 and 350 incoming calls from Quebec residents alone so far this year. This is compared to about 40 calls received from those living in the province in 2020. While Naseeha’s mandate describes it as a confidential help line for young Muslims, it continues to be a resource for people of different ages and religious backgrounds, said Kermalli, with callers who self-identify as Sikh and Jewish also reaching out. Trained counsellors with the organization provide confidential support via phone calls and texts to people around the world.

The rise in calls takes place in the same year that four Muslim family members were killed in London, Ont., in what police described as a targeted attack and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a terrorist attack. Kermalli noted that several Quebec callers who reached out to Naseeha this year specifically mentioned the London attack when explaining their anxiety to counsellors.

Kermalli pointed to the more recent incident involving an elementary school teacher who was removed from her classroom for wearing a hijab due to Quebec’s Bill 21. The legislation bans the wearing of religious symbols by certain government employees considered to be in positions of authority while at work. The province’s premier, Francois Legault, has defended the bill saying it was voted on democratically and “supported by the majority of Quebecers.”

While the classroom incident happened earlier this month, Kermalli said the organization has continued to hear from callers anxious about the legislation since it was first implemented in 2019. He explained that concerns around the bill’s impact, coupled with anxiety surrounding the London attack and loneliness as a result of the ongoing pandemic, are all contributing to the feelings of depression and isolation that many of Naseeha’s callers are saying they experience.

“In the past year or so, we've had unfortunate circumstances with the London attack and what's happening with Bill 21…which have caused a significant increase with issues around loneliness and identity, specifically regarding people calling in from Quebec,” he said. “Bill 21…is causing more disruption and more hate and more anger and more isolation towards minorities, specifically, which is causing an even worse situation with anxiety levels, stress levels [and] loneliness.”

These feelings of anxiety and isolation can, in some cases, escalate to suicidal thoughts, Kermalli said, something especially concerning to him and groups like Naseeha. Kermalli said that several youth who reach out to Naseeha are repeat callers.

There have been instances where these callers initially reached out to Naseeha for support in dealing with anxiety and isolation as a result of the pandemic, he said. But following incidents such as the attack in London and the removal of the elementary school teacher, the need for support seems to have increased, said Kermalli.

“That same person is calling in and saying, ‘I'm at my wit’s end,’” he said. “That's scary. It's hard for us to be able to take that call.”

“It's one thing to say that you have someone or a group of people who hate you…now imagine a law being implemented where I can't even wear a garment,” said Kermalli. “And put the pandemic onto that.

“You add these other layers on top of that, what's going to happen? It's only a certain amount of time before someone can’t take it.”

Quebec-based mental health hotline Tel-Aide also recently reported an increase in calls from residents in the province. According to the organization, it received about 50,000 calls so far this year, twice its annual average of 25,000 calls. One part of the reason for this has been the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, said Tel-Aide’s executive director Nicolas Dugal.

“There’s an increase during the holidays, prior to the holidays,” said Dugal. “There’s been an increase lately also because a lot of people are getting tired and fed up with the pandemic.”

The organization said its numbers have doubled this year compared to the average of 25,000 calls

For Kermalli, part of the solution lies in revoking Bill 21. But he also said the conversation must continue beyond the legislation to address some of its ripple effects, as well as the impact of attacks such as what happened in London, Ont. He points to continued advocacy for mental health support systems, and something as simple as checking in on one another in times of need.