Suicide Prevention Resources
Suicide is devastating, and only more so when it occurs among young people. This page lists resources in various categories: In a Crisis, which includes hotlines, text help, and where to go, Identifying a Problem, and General Understanding and Support. Suicide can be prevented. Silence is not strength.
In A Crisis
Help is just a text away: Text HOME to 741741. More info here: www.crisistextline.org Free.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255) provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, 24/7, every day, across the US, over the phone. Their website also has resources for people facing specific traumas, like disasters or loss.
If someone you are with appears to be considering suicide, please call 911 or take them to an emergency room. Locally, St Vincent’s Hospital Westchester is located at 275 North Street in Harrison. Their website links to their Crisis Prevention and Response Team.
Resources for LGBTQ+: The Trevor Project (866-488-7386) offers 24/7 crisis support to LGBTQ+ youth by phone, text and online chat. Free.
Identifying A Problem
Activeminds.org provides many different resources on separate webpages so you can find exactly what you’re looking for. This page offers general signs and symptoms of mental illness that can lead to thoughts of suicide. On this page are more immediate warning signs for suicide specifically.
Self.com has published this article with nine things professionals want you to know about suicide and talking with your children. These range from facts about the current state of suicide in the US to what you can do in your own home to prevent suicide. Very worthwhile reading.
General Understanding & Support
The Jed Foundation is a renowned organization committed to protecting emotional health and preventing suicide in young people. Their website offers resources for families, communities, schools, colleges, and more. If you need help to help a friend who is struggling, this page lets you know what to look for, and what to say.
This article, published in Lohud, is thorough and provides a broad understanding of current statistics and what leads people to thoughts of suicide and related risk factors. And then at the end, it’s an advertisement for Montefiore. But everything before that is very valuable and we encourage you to read it.
There Is No Vaccine For Teenage Despair, published in the NY Times and posted on the Pelham Together Facebook page is written by a high school junior as she reflects on the death of one of her friends. Very powerful, this story provides unique insight into the difference between how someone may appear on the outside vs how they may feel on the inside.
Some people find a group setting to be most supportive. The Youth Mental Health Project holds confidential and free parent support groups, which are offered locally in a variety of locations (Westchester County is one), and are currently offered virtually.