This posting contains information primarily about crisis and suicide prevention
resources available on the Internet, and other national resources available in
various countries. It is a companion to the "Suicide - Frequently Asked
Questions" posting, which should be available on your news system, and should
probably be read first to set the context for this article. It is also
archived at:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/suicide/info
Readers are encouraged to offer suggestions of any other relevant Internet or
national resources which could be included here. This posting is archived at:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/suicide/resources
International Crisis Resources available via the Internet:
The Samaritans are a non-religious charity that have been offering
emotional support to the suicidal and despairing for over 40 years by
phone, visit and letter. Callers are guaranteed absolute confidentiality
and retain the right to make their own decisions including the decision to
end their life. The service is now available via E-mail, run from
Cheltenham, England, and can be reached from anywhere with Internet
access. Trained volunteers read and reply to mail once a day, every day of
the year.
E-mail: mailto:j...@samaritans.org
Anonymous E-mail: mailto:samar...@anon.twwells.com
The Usenet news hierarchy soc.support.depression provides a number of
electronic support groups for people suffering depression or in other
crisis situations.
A number of electronic self-help groups exist under the alt.support
hierarchy addressing various problems that can contribute to people
feeling suicidal, and providing information about other resources.
alt.support.depression in particular contains a detailed and excellent
Frequently Asked Questions posting covering many facets of depression.
Note that not all sites carry alt groups.
The suicide-support mailing list provides an electronic support group
where people can discuss suicidal feelings, thoughts, intentions or
previous attempts in a safe, emotionally supportive environment.
Membership of the list is open to anyone seeking emotional support
regarding potentially self-destructive situations, and to people willing
to offer support in a non-judgemental manner. List members who offer
support do so in their spare time on an ad-hoc basis, and come from a
diverse variety of backgrounds and experiences. For more info, see:
http://www.onelist.com/group/suicide-support
SOLOS (Survivors of Loved Ones' Suicides) is an e-mail support group for
those who have lost someone they care about to suicide. Discussion
revolves around mutual grief support and suicide survivor issues.
A number of related support groups are available at:
http://www.1000deaths.com/lists.html
The "Emotional Support on the Internet" monthly posting by Steve Harris
<ste...@cix.compulink.co.uk> in news.answers lists various Internet
resources for people seeking emotional support on a wide range of issues.
The most up to date version is probably at:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/support/emotional/resources-list/faq.html
For more detailed information on other support groups, John M. Grohol
<gro...@alpha.acast.nova.edu> regularly posts to news.answers a
"Psychology & Support Groups Newsgroup Pointer" and a "Psychology &
Support Mailing-List Pointer", which are archived respectively as:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/finding-groups/psychology-and-support
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/medicine/support-mail-lists
The Suicidology mailing list exists to facilitate the exchange of
information and ideas among researchers, scholars, teachers, clinicians,
and others dedicated to expanding our understanding of suicide and
suicide-related behaviors and reducing their toll on society.
Communications appropriate for this list include but are not limited to
exchanges of theoretical views and research activities, as well as
information on clinical interventions, prevention strategies, and social
and political developments pertaining to the reduction of suicide and
suicide-related behaviors. To subscribe, mailto:list...@lists.apa.org
a message containing:
SUBSCRIBE SUICIDOLOGY YourFirstName YourLastName
The GROHOL Mental Health Page is a comprehensive index for mental health,
psychology, and support resources on the Internet via the World Wide Web:
http://www.coil.com/~grohol/
A comprehensive international list of telephone Suicide Helplines
affiliated with Befrienders International is available online at:
http://www.suicide-helplines.org/
Australia:
Australian phone books contain a Community Health & Welfare page in the
front section which lists organisations and services which are available
to help deal with a wide variety of problems including suicide. Most major
cities have a number of local crisis counselling or referral services,
many of which are available 24 hours. This page is probably the best list
of your local resources you'll find.
Lifeline is a 24 hour telephone crisis counselling service with 38 centres
nation-wide. It is available for the cost of a local call from anywhere in
Australia on the phone number 13 1114, with calls diverted to the nearest
centre that is available. Lifeline handles problems such as suicide,
depression, loneliness, relationship problems, drug and alcohol abuse, and
so on in a caring, supporting, non-interventionist manner. Some centres
can also offer face to face counselling if necessary, or else can refer to
local counselling services, suicide survivor groups, self-help groups, or
other agencies for longer term support. For more info, see:
http://www.lifeline.org.au/
Kids Help Line is a 24 hour help line aimed at young people under 18 and
available nationwide on freecall phone number 1800 55 1800. For more info,
see the Kids Help Line pages under:
http://www.boystown.org.au/boystown
Community Health Centres can provide a wide variety of services, resources
and referrals for many different problems or situations, and some centres
specialise in particular areas. Look under "C" in the White Pages.
Suicide Prevention Australia consists of a group of individuals and
organisations working towards the common aim of suicide prevention
nationally. The organisation publishes a regular newsletter called "Let's
Live" containing the latest information and research available from
Australia and overseas, and can be contacted on by phone on (02) 211 1788
or fax on (02) 211 0392.
Canada:
The Suicide Information and Education Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
has a web page:
http://www.siec.ca/
The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/masecard/index.html
The Canadian Crisis Line and Sexual Assault Hotline Database is an
extensive phone listing for all of Canada. This listing begins on:
http://www.roadtohealing.home.ml.org
United Kingdom:
The Samaritans are a non-religious charity that have been offering
emotional support to the suicidal and despairing for over 40 years by
phone, visit and letter. Callers are guaranteed absolute confidentiality
and retain the right to make their own decisions including the decision to
end their life. The Samaritans have nearly 200 branches. A call to 0345
909090 will reach them anywhere in the UK and is charged at "local" rates.
UK phone books generally list direct numbers for local branches on the
inside of the front cover. Also note the Samaritans E-mail service,
described under in the Internet resources section earlier in this posting.
United States of America:
The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) publish directories of
members, suicide prevention centers, support groups, mainly in the US but
other countries are represented also. They have also published and
maintain a certifying program for new centers which sets standards for
operations and tries to implement these. There is a book published by AAS
of these standards.
http://www.cyberpsych.org/aas.htm
The National Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, at
1610 New Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009. Fax 202 237 2282.
See the "Suicide - Frequently Asked Questions" posting for general information
on using telephone counselling services and other general resource suggestions.
Copyright 1994-2000 by Graham Stoney <gre...@research.canon.com.au>.
This article may be freely redistributed for personal use or via Usenet News
provided that this copyright message remains intact. Any other form of
commercial distribution requires explicit permission from the author.