Suicide - Internet & International Crisis
Resources and Information
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| 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:jo@samaritans.org Anonymous E-mail: mailto:samaritans@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. As these groups have only recently been created, they may not be available on your site yet. 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. To subscribe, mailto:suicide-support-request@research.canon.com.au with a message containing any Subject, and the body: subscribe The suicide-survivors mailing list provides an electronic support group for people who have had a family member, close friend or loved one complete suicide. Membership of the list is open to anyone seeking emotional support regarding the death of someone close to them due to suicide, and to people willing to offer support in a non-judgemental manner. The stigma surrounding suicide can make it extremely difficult for survivors to deal with their grief and can cause them also to feel terribly isolated. This list exists to provide one avenue where people can discuss, and begin to resolve these feelings in an emotionally supportive environment. To subscribe, mailto:suicide-survivors-request@research.canon.com.au with a message containing any Subject, and the body: subscribe The "Emotional Support on the Internet" monthly posting by Steve Harris <steveha@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 <grohol@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 suicide-prevention mailing list is an international forum for people interested or working in the fields of suicide prevention and crisis counselling on or off the Internet. Mental health professionals, volunteers and users of the Internet are all welcome to join in and contribute to the discussion. Relevant topics include suicidal thoughts, self injury attempts, completed suicide deaths or survivals and education related to preventing these. The list will provide a forum for those who wish to address these issues in a non judgmental but life affirming environment. It is suggested that people seeking emotional support would find one of the support-oriented mailing lists, such as the suicide-support list mentioned above, or the alt.support newsgroup hierarchy more helpful. To subscribe, mailto:suicide-prevention-request@research.canon.com.au with a message containing any Subject, and the body: subscribe 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/ 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.chem.usyd.edu.au/~arthur_j/lifeline/lifeline.html 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.geocities.com/HotSprings/2891/crisis1.html 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, 1995, 1996 by Graham Stoney <greyham@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. |
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