Suicide Prevention Help was created, in 1998, in response to my discovering websites encouraging people to take their own lives.
This website consists of The Friendship Letter, an open letter about how I came to see my suicidal thoughts and feelings realistically. In addition you will find Helpful Suggestions if you are caught in the storm of suicidal thoughts and feelings. Browse the carefully-screened resources if you are feeling suicidal or want to help someone who is despairing and contemplating suicide.
You can also find Crisis Centers across the globe.
Suicide is a complex problem that requires a range of prevention initiatives and methods of evaluation.1 In sharing my lived-experience with suicide ideation, I am offering a little hope to those who are suffering. That said, this website should not be viewed as a replacement for therapy or professional medical counselling.
This site once included a web directory of suicide prevention resources. Unfortunately, the database of over 1500 resources was hacked and corrupted. The current selected resources for those who are experiencing suicidal thoughts and feelings and the people who care about those who are suffering are the best the Internet has to offer.
Over the years, I was able to answer multiple hundreds of emails from people who have visited the site, offering a few kind words and positive suicide prevention resources available online and offline. Click here to read a sampling of visitors’ comments.
A reporter from the Montreal Gazette came upon Suicide Prevention Help and The Friendship Letter, and wrote an article, entitled, “Moving Beyond Suicide,” that describes my particular journey. In 2007, the Guardian published an article, “Using the web to turn lives around,” further describing the experiences that led to my setting up this website devoted to helping those in need.
From 2008 – 2020, I was honored to be a consultant and webmaster for the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). In 2015, I was awarded the Association’s Certificate of Appreciation for my “tireless work in the development of World Suicide Prevention Day.” I am a current member of the IASP.
Over the last 39 years or so, I have come to understand suicidal thoughts and feelings within the context of kindness and cruelty towards another and oneself. To this end, I have created The Humane Experience, a virtual or in-person directed gentle conversation about how kindness and cruelty impacts one’s life.
1The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 210 , Issue 6 , June 2017 , pp. 381 – 383
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.116.197459