Take Action

Suicide is an entirely preventable tragedy that is everybody's business. Please join us today in taking action and saving lives. Your voice matters! The stigma that still surrounds suicide is a big contributor to its epidemic. Let's take the first step together by talking about it. Please consider all of the tools offered here and through other resources to start the conversation and make a difference in our fight against suicide.

Become an Advocate

• Educate yourself. Please read our resources pages for Risk Factors and Family & Friends to help familiarize yourself with the signs of suicide risk and how to respond. Share this information with family and friends.
• You can also join the #BeThe1To movement, they offer a free message toolkit to help you get the conversation started.
• Speaking of conversation starters, if you have a teen at home there is a good chance they have watched a movie from Netflix called 13 Reasons Why. If you have not watched it, please do and then share a conversation with your teen about it. KOAA News 5 created an in-depth one hour special about starting the conversation that you can view here.
• Be ready to help. Save these numbers in your phone so you can easily share them if needed. Text START to 741-741 or Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
• Ask people you talk with to start a conversation with their friends and families.
• Become an advocate for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Take the Pledge

• Take the Spartan Pledge for veterans. This was created by a former soldier, Boone Cutler, after he lost his friend to suicide.
  
• Take "Tell Me!" pledge. It help encourage getting the very important conversation about suicide started.
• Take the Let's Have a Conversation pledge. It lets people know that you are someone that they can reach out to.
• Take the Stop Suicide pledge.
• Take the Stigma Free pledge from the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Put Your Social Media To Work.

Post about mental health awareness and suicide prevention. Post about the resources. Post a photo of yourself volunteering and ask your connections to join you. Share publications that promote awareness, start a conversation or share hotline information. Engage your followers and encourage them to share with their followers.

Get Schools Involved

Schools play a vital role in our communities and their engagement can have a huge impact on suicide prevention. Ask your child's school counselor, principle or your child's teacher if the school has a suicide prevention plan or policy in place. Here are some great resources for schools:

• AFSP: Model School Policy On Suicide Prevention
• Ask college's to become a JED Campus school. JED Campus is a nationwide initiative of The Jed Foundation designed to empower schools with a framework and customized support to enhance student mental health and substance abuse and suicide prevention efforts.
• Tell your child's school about training resources available from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. These include an interactive screening program.

Get Your Employer Involved

Ask your employer about gift matching programs, or to sponsor you in a fundraising event to help great organizations like these in the fight against suicide:

• JED
• Project;
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
• NAMI

Volunteer

There are many ways to get involved through giving the gift of your time. Your help is needed now more than ever.

• Every year the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention holds fundraising walks. It is easy to locate and sign up for in your community. Search for walks here. Would you like to help organize the event? The registration form includes an option to volunteer.
• Become a fundraiser for Stop Soldier Suicide. The offer a hotline for active duty military members and veterans. You can become a fundraiser here.
• Donate your data. "Believe it or not, a major challenge for cutting edge research is access to data. The data you donate will be used by scientists and researchers to further scientific understanding of mental and emotional health. If you are a suicide loss survivor, a person with lived experience of suicidal thoughts or attempts, or if you just want to help, please share your data and/or the data of a loved one. You can help by sharing what you know, your data helps." You can sign up here.
• Become a suicide hotline volunteer.
• Volunteer with Crisis Text Line.