List of suicide crisis lines

Logo for the lifeline suicide prevention helpline in Australia

Suicide crisis lines can be found in many countries worldwide. Many are geared to a general audience while others are specific to a select demographic such as LGBTQIA+ youth, Native American and Aboriginal Canadian youth. There have been studies in the United States[1] and Australia[2] which show that suicide crisis lines may help people who feel like killing or hurting themselves and may make them feel better.

One of the first suicide crisis lines was the Samaritans, founded in the United Kingdom in 1953 by Chad Varah, the then Rector of the former St. Stephen's Church in London. He decided to start a "listening service" after reading a sermon at the grave of a 14-year-old girl who had died by suicide. She was in distress prior to her death and had no one to talk to.[3]

  1. ^ Gould, Madelyn S.; Kalafat, John; HarrisMunfakh, Jimmie Lou; Kleinman, Marjorie (June 2007). "An Evaluation of Crisis Hotline Outcomes Part 2: Suicidal Callers". Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 37 (3): 338–352. doi:10.1521/suli.2007.37.3.338. PMID 17579545.
  2. ^ King, R; Nurcombe, B; Bickman, L; Hides, L; et al. (Winter 2003). "Telephone counselling for adolescent suicide prevention: changes in suicidality and mental state from beginning to end of a counselling session". Suicide Life Threat Behav. 33 (4): 400–11. doi:10.1521/suli.33.4.400.25235. PMID 14695055.
  3. ^ "Press Release: The Life and Work of Chad Varah". Archived from the original on 9 February 2012.

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