Facebook launches “Help A Friend In Need” for Suicide Prevention
26 September 2016
Facebook launches “Help A Friend In Need” for Suicide Prevention
Athens, September 26th, 2016 - Facebook teamed up with NGOs “The Smile of the Child”, “The Jed Foundation” and “The Clinton Foundation” to create “Help a Friend in Need”, a guide for young people to help identify when one of their friends is showing signs of distress online.
Every year more than 800,000 people die from suicide, making it the 15th leading cause of death in 2012, according to the International Society for Suicide Prevention. Sadly it is the second leading cause of death amongst the 15-29 year-old age group globally.
Whilst September may be National Suicide Prevention Month, it’s also the time of year that many young people head to a new university, school or college. Such a move can be a big milestone, but it can also be hard managing new academic pressures, meeting new people or moving away from home for the first time.
Facebook encourages people to report suicidal content from a post by clicking on the upper-right corner and following the prompts. Facebook’s team personally reviews these reports 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and provides people in need with resources in their local language from one of our 33 global suicide prevention partners. To learn more about suicide prevention on Facebook, please visit our help centre: https://www.facebook.com/help/suicideprevention?_rdr
Ms. Julie de Bailliencourt, EMEA Safety Policy Manager at Facebook said: “Studies have shown that participation in social networks is crucial to people who may be at risk of suicide – reaching out and offering people support can be a life-saving act. “We created “Help A Friend In Need” because we want to make sure that friends and family have the resources to help identify when someone is distressed and know what steps to take, particularly in extreme cases where someone’s life might be in danger”.
Mr. Costas Yannopoulos, President of the BoD of the non-profit Organization “The Smile of the Child” said: “The co-operation with Facebook to create the initiative “Help A Friend In Need” is of great honour for our Organization. “The Smile of the Child” based on its scientific staff stands by children and teenagers daily implementing interactive interventions of prevention and awareness-raising in schools across Greece and through the National Helpline for Children SOS 1056 to which children and teenagers turn to for any problem that they might have.
Today, the internet constitutes the main mean of communication among young people and “The Smile of the Child” stands by them in an online environment as well through its Facebook page where psychologists and social workers respond to their queries. Uniting forces with Facebook will enhance our support to children and teenagers who are in need and require our support”. Young people spend an increasing amount of their lives online and it’s often a place where they turn to seek support in times of need. Spotting the signs of people in distress on Facebook or elsewhere can have a real impact in helping to protect people’s well-being, so we are pleased to partner on this practical guide” concluded Mr. Yannopoulos.
Facebook is a mobile application and Website that enables people to connect, share, discover and communicate with each other on mobile devices and personal computers. The Company has approximately 930 million daily active users (DAUs) who access Facebook from a mobile device.
The Smile of the Child
"The Smile of the Child" is a non-profit voluntary Organisation. It is based on sentiments and emotions, but it goes beyond pure words turning everything it represents into actions. As its main objective, the Organisation deals with the daily problems that children encounter. The Organisation’s main concern is to defend children's rights, not just on paper, but also in practice, providing services to children on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, working for their physical, mental and psychological stability.
