World Suicide Prevention Day - 10 September, 2007

World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, is an annual event sponsored by the International Association for Suicide Prevention, in collaboration with the World Health Organization. This year the theme of World Suicide Prevention Day is "Suicide across the Life Span." This theme has been adopted to emphasize the fact that suicide occurs in all ages and suicide prevention and intervention strategies may be adapted to meet the needs of different age groups.

Quoted from a brochure published by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP).

Please click on the links below to download the following information flyers that describe how suicide is cross-generational.

• Information flyer in English (pdf)

• Information flyer in French (pdf)

• Information flyer in Chinese (pdf)

Over the years, I have answered letters from people of all ages who have been suicidal. Often we think that suicide is an issue that is primarily concerned with young people, however elderly suicide is also an issue of grave concern. For this reason, I created a category in the Suicide Prevention Help Web Directory. Please see:

Suicide Prevention Help - Global Web Directory » Groups at Risk » Elderly, The

Most important however, suicide prevention hotlines or crisis centers are chronically under-funded. Please consider making a donation, large or small, to your local crisis prevention center. If you are an empathetic individual, I ask you to volunteer at an suicide intervention or prevention center. These organizations play an essential role in saving lives.

Here is the link for this week's Guardian Weekly Podcast that includes an interview with me, in advance of World Suicide Prevention Day.