Suicide Prevention

Professional Resource Brief

Hotlines

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. A free, 24-hour, confidential hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Call for yourself or someone you care about. Your call will be routed to the nearest crisis center. Telephone: (800) 273-TALK or (800) 273- 8255 (voice); (800) 799-4889 (TDD) or (888) 628-9454 (Spanish).
  
  
• Trevor Lifeline. A free, 24-hour, confidential crisis and suicide-prevention lifeline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. TrevorChat is a free, confidential, and secure online messaging service that provides live help with trained volunteers.
  

Websites

• American Association of Suicidology (AAS). Fact sheets, statistics, and publications for health, education, and social services professionals and families about reducing the incidence of suicide and suicidal behaviors among children and adolescents. Includes information about education and training opportunities for health and education professionals. Also includes resources and support for those thinking about suicide, suicide loss survivors, and suicide attempt survivors.
  
  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Suicide Prevention. Fact sheets, program information, definitions, and data about suicide. Includes information about suicide risk and protective factors, consequences, and prevention strategies.
  
  
• Jed Foundation. Resources for parents, college students, college administrators, and advocates about reducing the rate of suicide and the prevalence of emotional distress among college students.
  
  
• National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention (Action Alliance). Information about suicide and the Action Alliance, a public-private partnership to promote suicide prevention as a national priority. Resources include toolkits, handouts, PowerPoint presentations, archived webinars, and reports.
  
  National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action: A Report of the U.S. Surgeon General and of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. (2012). [Report, Overview, Fact sheet]. Developed by the U.S. Surgeon General and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.
  
  
• Reach Out. Youth-generated, expert-reviewed information and stories with opportunities for adolescents to connect with one another in a supportive, safe environment. Topics include warning signs for suicide, depression, and eating disorders, as well as relationship advice and coping strategies. Includes tips to help cope with tough times and tips for helping a friend.
  
  
• Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide. Recommendations for the media about safe and accurate reporting of suicide to reduce the risk of contagion and encourage help-seeking behavior. Lists the warning signs of suicide.
  
  
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). Suicide prevention information, training materials, and other resources to assist professionals, advocates, and families with developing suicide prevention programs, interventions, and policies. Includes an online library of resources about suicide, suicide prevention, and mental health. Also presents descriptions of and resources from state efforts to prevent suicide. SPRC is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Resources include
  
  After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools. (2011).
  
  Resources and Programs. Formerly Best Practices Registry (BPR). Find resources (e.g., articles, tools, fact sheets, reports) developed by SPRC and other suicide prevention organizations and experts; and Programs and Practices (e.g., education, screening, treatment, environmental change), including former BPR listings.
  
  
• The Trevor Project. Facts and warning signs about suicide, tips on how to help a person in crisis, and an online directory for finding local resources for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. Also offers information about a classroom tool and other resources that can be used to generate discussion about the issues surrounding suicide, personal identity, and sexual orientation.
  
  

Grief Support

• Compassionate Friends: Supporting Family After a Child Dies. Information and resources for parents, grandparents, and siblings who have experienced the death of a child at any age and from any cause. Also offers support via online support and Facebook groups and local chapters.
  

Related MCH Digital Library Resources

• Adolescent Violence Prevention professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
• Bullying resource brief
• Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents professional resource guide, family resource brief, school resource brief
  

Suicide Prevention: Professional Resource Brief. (July 2011). (Updated: December 2014; June 2020).

Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Digital Library.
Reviewers: Lauren Agoratus, M.A., Family Voices and Family-to-Family Health Information Resource Center at the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network of N.J.; Olivia Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Digital Library; Judi Siegel, L.I.C.S.W., Children's Hospital Boston; Sandy Swan, M.L.S., M.P.H., C.H.I.S., Phil Johnson Historic Archives and Research Library.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Digital Library.