Saturday, July 4, 2015

Hope and Suicidal Debtors

Unfortunately, I have learned some dark news about a debtor, one who did not make it - I presume he never knew about this page and the stories shared here by suicidal debtors. On the other hand, another suicidal debtor reached out to me almost a year ago, and I wrote to him and urged him to seek medial help immediately. That story has a good ending, and one that I'll be sharing with all of you shortly. Stay tuned.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am heartbroken to hear that we have lost one of our own. Unfortunately, I can very much relate to the hopeless, desperate feelings of depression that can accompany such impossible debt. May this person's friends and family feel at peace during this time.

I look forward to hearing a happy story. Thank you for creating a blog where we do not all feel alone.

-B

Anonymous said...

I can relate too. I thought about it myself, all the shame and hopelessness, it beats down on you. And the debt really makes you feel like you don't have much choice in anything, it's just sheer desperation.

And it eats away at you really, after awhile you just give up and don't care anymore.

Unknown said...

While I can relate to the feelings of despair, take heart in knowing that there is no shame in falling prey to being indebted due to participation in a corrupt and criminal process. In a more sane and just world, students would receive a stipend to attend all levels of higher learning and or vocational training. Be that as it may, there are always options and upon arising from the morass of hopelessness and despair, you will have emerged a better, more complete person. Keep your wits about you, keep discussing your feelings with friends and family, and know that the world is a better place with you in it. Let me know if there is anything I can do to be of any assistance...

Anonymous said...

Well one of the issues with friends and family is that, with a law degree, it's hard to hold down a full time job, and at some point people get really sick of being asked if they're "working" and "where." Plenty of people are stuck on doc review, and for many of us those are the "lucky" ones, but even that isn't something to tell people of course.

Over the age of around 25, people are defined by their occupations, their incomes, their work. But us law grads are barely surviving and we certainly can't justify the cost of our degrees in either time or debt. So it drives people to isolation, I'm fairly certain I'm not the only one. There are only so many times you are willing to put up with being look at as a loser and people questioning why you don't have a full time job, insisting you must be lazy or something like that (even if you're hustling the doc review circuit and working 60 hour weeks, nobody cares, they still want to call you lazy!).

Anonymous said...

@2:37 PM

Seconded, except where I live is so economically depressed there's not even doc review. As it turns out, ordinary people who haven't the first clue what is happening in the legal industry will NOT hire you or even consider you for menial work if you have a fancy law degree and a license. They are beyond suspicious.

How do you feel when the debt keeps growing (it's 30% larger in 2 years) and you get turned down to even scrub toilets, you're out of money, and out of options?

I have to earn enough to be able to afford a method of suicide that's reliable! Ha ha! I can't even afford to die!

There's no way out, and I have literally nothing left. I own nothing. I'm typing on a borrowed and mostly broken laptop on a borrowed internet connect.

I have no future and the present is completely fucked. I didn't go to a "4th Tier Toilet" law school either; first tier, well-regarded. I worked my whole life. Things were going pretty well until I got defrauded by a law school.

We got robbed of so much more than money. So much more.

Anonymous said...

It pains me to read these stories, especially because I have been (and sometimes still am) in that mental state. Student debt is a hopeless situation from which there is no real escape. The last 10 years of the repayment of my loans with no budging in the amount owed has proven that to me.

I wonder, however, why all of these law graduates are not using their backgrounds to advocate for change? It has been a while since I read the Constitution but from what I recall, we have protections against usury and indentured servitude (which, in my opinion, are kind of the same things), right? Why are our Constitutional rights not being honored and where are the people who are supposed to be protecting them?

I am becoming hugely pissed off at our government. Time and time again, issues are placed before the student debt crisis. I have been willing to be patient because some matters are clearly more pressing than others (such as the government shut-down) but it is becoming clear to me that our dire circumstances are never going to be addressed until the money stops pouring into the Department of Education. Immigration, gay marriage, etc. etc. etc. are all important issues, however, until I am able to meet my basic needs, I cannot and will not care about other political issues any longer because I do not have the time, money, energy or patience. I feel that it is more urgent for me to eat a warm meal (or any meal, for that matter) before I go to bed at night than it is for someone to get married right this instant. Sure, fix the marriage inequality and immigration problems, but let's keep people from dying first, okay? Other issues are deliberately being placed ahead of the student debt crisis because Congress has no idea what to do with the mess that they have created. Call me heartless, but I am tired of waiting for my turn. Now, rather than helping the 40 million who can't afford to sleep, they are wanting to pretend like offering free education to future students is going to fix this problem. No, it is not. It is going to make my personal crisis worse because now I will have to not only pay for these bloated student loans, I will have less to pay them with because I will now be fully subsidizing other people's educations so that they do not end up like me.

Notice how the Corinthian students' unwillingness to repay their loans ended up working in their favor. Our schools did not shut down, but we certainly have not found the jobs or incomes we were promised, and the price of our degrees was apparently supposed to be commensurate with our future earning potential, right? So were we not also ripped off? Money talks, and until we stop paying on our loans, nothing is going to change.

I have decided that I am no longer supporting issues that are not directly related to student loans. It is our turn to have our voices heard and not be dismissed. It is our turn to be heard by the Supreme Court. I am not signing any more petitions or donating to any more political campaigns (or voting, for that matter) until the student debt crisis is addressed. I will no longer excuse this deliberate dismissal of my basic human needs and rights. We live in the United States of America where hard work has always meant that one could have a decent chance at an existence. People risk their lives to get here for that opportunity. What the hell is going on here? They've had enough time. I have waited long enough.

-B

Anonymous said...

I to have thought about it. I became disabled and have around 400,000.00 dollars id student loan debt and it still grows with the private loans. They keep calling wanting to know what I am going to do about it, sometimes 3 or 4 times a week. Sallie mae and CLC are two of them. They have changed hands so many times that it is such a mess. They do not care about the stress that they cause people. It is no wonder that more do not commit suicide. or go off the
deep end and have mental problems. There are times that I feel so hopeless and that may be my only answer. I guess when they push enough buttons wrong then we will see. They have no heart for hurting people, just greed. I keep hoping something will change.

c