September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

posted by

Sophia Guida

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

September 22, 2021

The Institute for Family Health joins millions around the world and across our nation in encouraging people to seek help if they are considering suicide.

Feeling suicidal is unpredictable and can affect anyone. When you’re in a crisis, it can be hard to know where to turn. You feel stuck, trapped, with no options and no way out. It’s  important to plan ahead so you know how to find the help you need quickly.  If you’re feeling suicidal, you can get help to put the crisis out, just like firefighters would put out a building on fire. Don’t ignore it– reach out for help!

Crisis centers offer phone hotlines and text messaging 24 hours/day all year long. Trained people are standing by to answer the phone or answer your text and respond to you. It might a few  seconds or  minutes, but you will connect to a real human being who will help you remember that suicide is not the only way. Don’t wait for a crisis to look up these hotline numbers – put them  into your phone now so that you have them handy.

Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. In Spanish, the number is 1-888-628-9454. These numbers work 24 hours/day year round.

NY Project Hope offers for support for Covid-related stresses. It’s not 24 hours/day but it is open 7 days/week.