Need support or information? Look no further. gURL's put together the following list of resources to help you out.
Call a national suicide hotline (the calls are confidential and usually free). Usually staffed by trained volunteers and professional counselors who help callers identify their problems, explore options and develop a plan of action, these hotlines also offer referrals to community-based services, support groups and shelters if necessary.
phone:
1-800-876-5309
Boys and Girls Town National Hotline (Open 24 hours). Provides a bilingual suicide prevention hotline for boys and girls.
phone:
800-448-3000
KID SAVE: 800-KID-SAVE (Open 24 hours). Gives information and referrals to shelters, mental health services, sexual abuse treatment, substance abuse, family counseling, residential care, adoption/foster care, and the like for teens in crisis.
phone:
800-543-7283
TEEN LINE operates every night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Pacific Standard Time. In California, call 800-TLC-TEEN (800-852-8336). In other states, call 310-855-4673. Somebody will call you back immediately so there won't be a big charge.
phone:
800-TLC-TEEN (800-852-8336) in CA 310-855-4673 Other Sates
The Samaritans Hotline (Opern 24 hours). The Samaritans Hotline is a non-religious, completely confidential hotline.
phone:
212-673-3000 (24 hours)
National Hopeline Network is a 24-hour national hotline that routes your call to the nearest resource:
phone:
800-SUICIDE (800-784-2433).
If someone you know has taken their own life (or died any other way), contact one of the following groups for information on coping and referrals to a local support group:
American Association of Suicidology
phone:
202-237-2280
address:
4201 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 408, Washington, DC 20008
Some reads on why some people commit suicide and how it affects those left behind:
Another Country by James Baldwin (Vintage Books). A classic novel in which a black jazz musician commits suicide, compelling his friends to search for the meaning of his death and, consequently, for a deeper understanding of their own identities.
Face at the Edge of the World by Eve Bunting (Clarion Books). A novel in which the main character, haunted by the suicide of his best friend, attempts to re-create his friend's last weeks and discover why he took his own life.
What Are They Saying about Me? by Maureen Wartski (Juniper). A moving story of how gossip makes a teenage girl not want to live.
Searching for Mercy Street by Linda Gray Sexton (Little Brown). A memoir of the author's conflicted relationship with her mother, the poet Anne Sexton, who killed herself at 45.
For more information on suicide, to chat with someone who is going through similar experiences, or to read about another teen's own suicidal feelings, log onto these sites:
Suicide @ Rochford is an essential resource for anyone contemplating suicide.
