National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - FAQs

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How can our crisis center or mental health service organization join the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network? Does the Lifeline feature TTY services for the hearing impaired? Is the Lifeline available in other languages for non-English speakers? Can the Lifeline and the Veterans Hotline also be reached by dialing 1-800-SUICIDE? Will the Lifeline number appear on my phone bill? How do you determine which area each National Suicide Prevention Lifeline crisis center serves? Can I link to the Lifeline website through my organization's website or my personal website? Is the Lifeline service still available in a State or an area that does not have a crisis center participating in the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network? How can I get more information about upcoming National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network conferences and events? Is there a way to receive online crisis support or to correspond via e-mail to a crisis counselor? How do I report suicidal users on Facebook? How can I chat with the Lifeline on Facebook? Is the Lifeline Facebook Chat confidential? Can I volunteer to work on the Lifeline’s Facebook Chat? What do I do if I have trouble connecting when I call? We work hard to make sure that everyone can reach a crisis center as quickly as possible. If you call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and are having trouble reaching a crisis worker, please contact us. If you are in a medical emergency or suicidal crisis and you cannot connect, please call 911. :: back to top How do I order Lifeline materials? Please visit the Materials Home Page to learn more about how to order Lifeline materials. :: back to top Can I use the Lifeline logo in my campaign or on my website? Absolutely! Lifeline is a public service and therefore our logo is available for anyone to use. Please visit Logos page. :: back to top How can our crisis center or mental health service organization join the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network? Consideration for joining the network is based on a number of factors, including: Certification by an accrediting body (e.g., AAS, JCAHO, CONTACT USA, CARF, AIRS, etc.). Geographic coverage capacity. Community needs. Other variables regarding enhancing the network. Our goal is to have sufficient coverage and capacity by crisis centers in the network so that callers may be routed to local crisis centers that will provide crisis intervention, information, and referral according to callers' needs. Please e-mail the Director of Network Development for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Lidia Bernik, at lbernik@mhaofnyc.org if you are interested in having your crisis center join the network. :: back to top Does the Lifeline feature TTY services for the hearing impaired? The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has TTY capability via one of our national call centers, which can be accessed by calling 1-800-799-4TTY (4889). Additionally, more than 25 local crisis centers in the network can accept TTY calls directly. :: back to top Is the Lifeline available in other languages for non-English speakers? Yes. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline has a Spanish Language line - 1-888-628-9454. We also provide the Tele-Interpreters service to our crisis centers - so that we can support over 150 languages. :: back to top Can the Lifeline and the Veterans Hotline also be reached by dialing 1-800-SUICIDE? Yes. Callers to 800-SUICIDE are now being helped through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline's network of over 140 crisis centers across the nation, the same network that responds to 800-273-TALK callers in crisis. Recently, the FCC assigned 800-SUICIDE and two other related toll-free numbers to SAMHSA. Read here for more details regarding this decision. SAMHSA has directed that 800-SUICIDE calls now be assisted through the federally-funded Lifeline network of crisis centers, a process which began on February 22, 2007. For more information about how 800-SUICIDE callers are being efficiently assisted through this network, read our FAQs Regarding 1-800-SUICIDE. :: back to top Will the Lifeline number appear on my phone bill? Whether the Lifeline phone number will appear on your phone bill depends on your phone carrier. Please contact your phone carrier to ask how 1-800 toll-free numbers will appear on your phone bill. :: back to top How do you determine which area each National Suicide Prevention Lifeline crisis center serves? Each of the crisis centers that participate in the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline informs us of their capabilities in terms of number of phone lines, staffing, and geographic coverage areas, which helps in the development of the routing plan. Crisis centers are not asked to cover areas they do not feel capable of covering. Many provide services in their direct areas as well as statewide or nationwide, while others may serve local counties and provide backup for a neighboring crisis center. :: back to top Can I link to the Lifeline website through my organization's website or my personal website? We encourage all organizations interested in promoting the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to provide a link to www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org on their own websites. We also have Web banners and buttons that you may post on your site. These materials can be found on the Web Banners/Buttons page. :: back to top Is the Lifeline service still available in a State or an area that does not have a crisis center participating in the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network? Yes, the Lifeline itself covers all areas of the country, even if there is no local crisis center participating in that area. It is our goal to have calls answered as locally as possible, so we are working on developing relationships in areas where there are no crisis centers in the network. :: back to top How can I get more information about upcoming National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network conferences and events? Please sign up for our E-mail Updates to receive information on the efforts of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network via regular e-mail messages. The sign up form for this is available on the E-mail Updates page. :: back to top Is there a way to receive online crisis support or to correspond via e-mail to a crisis counselor? We understand that some people prefer e-mail or instant messaging over telephone conversations, but currently there are no such services for crisis support offered on a national level. We encourage you to call our toll-free number, which will connect you with a crisis center in your area. You can call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) toll free from a cell phone, pay phone, or any land line. Through the telephone, trained counselors will listen, provide support, and help connect you to local resources. :: back to top How do I report suicidal users on Facebook? There are two ways to report a suicidal user to Facebook. You may either report it when you are scrolling on the suicidal user’s comment or from the Facebook Help Center. Click here for specific instructions. Once a user is reported to Facebook for posting suicidal content, the content is reviewed by the Facebook Safety Team. If appropriate, Facebook will respond directly to the user via e-mail indicating that someone on Facebook is concerned about their safety and encourage the user to call the Lifeline and/or enter a confidential chat session with a crisis counselor. :: back to top How can I chat with the Lifeline on Facebook? Right now our chat is only for people who have been reported as posting suicidal content to Facebook. If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). :: back to top Is the Lifeline Facebook Chat confidential? Once a user is reported to Facebook for posting suicidal content, the content is reviewed by the Facebook Safety Team. If appropriate, Facebook will respond directly to the user via e-mail indicating that someone on Facebook is concerned about their safety and encourage the user to call the Lifeline and/or enter a confidential chat session with a crisis counselor. If the user chooses to enter chat, he or she will be redirected to a site hosted by the Lifeline. Security controls, including encryption and authentication, are in place to ensure the protection of any information submitted via chat. Additionally, the user who is given the opportunity to chat does not have to disclose any identifying information. :: back to top Can I volunteer to work on the Lifeline’s Facebook Chat? The Lifeline Facebook Chat is contracted with two Lifeline crisis centers and is fully staffed. Please use our Crisis Center Locator to contact the crisis center nearest you to inquire about volunteer opportunities. :: back to top
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