The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. Call 1-800-273-8255.

Text “START” to 741-741 to text with a crisis counselor. The Crisis Text Line is similar to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and other hotlines, but allows those in crisis to text in rather than call. It operates 24 hours a day.

The Boys Town National Hotline provides support to youth and parents 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is staffed by highly trained counselors, and is accredited by the American Association of Suicidology. Call 1-800-448-3000.

Your Life, Your Voice is part of the Boys Town National Hotline. It provides youth in crisis with the option of calling, emailing, texting, or chatting with a trained counselor. The organization stresses that children and teens do not have to face their problems alone, and wants to provide multiple ways for young people to seek help, since some may not feel comfortable making a phone call. Call 1-800-448-3000 or text VOICE to 20121 to start.  

Re:Solve Crisis Network provides round-the-clock, mental health crisis intervention and stabilization services for residents of Allegheny County in Pennsylvania. 1-888-769-8226 (7-YOU-CAN) 

The mission of the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide is to reduce the number of youth suicides and attempted suicides by encouraging public awareness through the development and promotion of educational training programs.

Facebook has a new feature where you can report a concerning post, reach out to your friend directly, contact a helpline, or see tips.  If you report the post to Facebook, their team will review the report and potentially send them resources. 

A short article posted by the National Association of School Psychologists which outline warning signs to watch for and guidelines for helping a friend who might be suicidal.

From time to time you may encounter a person who is expressing thoughts of suicide on your social media sites. If someone you know online is showing any of these warning signs, it is important that you post a message encouraging them to call the Lifeline. If you are friends with the person in real life or know where the person is, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) so that you can talk to a crisis counselor.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has been at the forefront of a wide range of suicide prevention initiatives – each designed to reduce loss of life from suicide. They are investing in groundbreaking research, new educational campaigns, innovative demonstration projects and critical policy work. And they are expanding their assistance to people, whose lives have been affected by suicide, reaching out to offer support and offering opportunities to become involved in prevention. Western PA Chapter Contact: Jennifer Sikora; Phone Number: (412-260-0789) and E-mail: westernpa@afsp.org.

Half of Us is run by the JED Foundation, which seeks to prevent suicide among college students. The Half of Us campaign uses students and high-profile artists to increase awareness of mental health problems and to encourage seeking help. Their website provides guidance for dealing with specific feelings (e.g., anger, stress) and experiences (e.g., break-ups, discrimination), as well as factual information about a variety of mental health problems.

The Pennsylvania Adult/Older Adult Suicide Prevention Coalition (PAOASPC) and the Pennsylvania Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative (PAYSPI) have merged to form a new organization called Prevent Suicide PA.  Prevent Suicide PA will address suicide prevention across the life span.  The organization's goal is to prevent suicide in Pennsylvania through education, training, awareness, reducing stigma, and involving those with lived experience (Loss and Attempt Survivors).

SAVE was one of the nation’s first organizations dedicated to the prevention of suicide. Our work is based on the foundation and belief that suicide is preventable and everyone has a role to play in preventing suicide. Through raising public awareness, educating communities, and equipping every person with the right tools, we know we can SAVE lives.

The More Than Sad Program of the American Foundation for Suicide prevention provides education about factors that put youth at risk for suicide, in particular depression and other mental disorders.