What We Can Do for Suicide Prevention

We can prevent suicide by combining caring conversations, early and easy access to help, safer environments (including secure storage of lethal means), responsible media practices, and strong, well-funded crisis and mental-health systems. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services right now; in the U.S. and Canada, you can also reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by call, text, or chat.

The Stakes and the Moment

Suicide claims more than 700,000 lives worldwide each year, according to the World Health Organization, with millions more people attempting or seriously considering it. In the United States, the CDC reports suicide deaths reached a record 49,449 in 2022, with provisional 2023 data indicating another increase. The burden is uneven: rates are often higher among men, Indigenous communities, veterans, LGBTQ+ people, and those in rural areas. The good news: decades of research show specific policies, clinical practices, and community actions reliably reduce risk.

Actions Individuals Can Take Right Now

The following points outline concrete steps anyone can take to support someone who might be struggling and to reduce risk in everyday life.

• Notice warning signs: talking about wanting to die, feeling like a burden, withdrawing, escalating substance use, agitation, hopelessness, or sudden calm after distress.
• Ask directly and kindly: “Are you thinking about suicide?” Evidence shows asking does not plant the idea and can be lifesaving.
• Listen without judgment: validate feelings; avoid minimizing or debating; focus on understanding and safety.
• Connect to help: offer to call or text a crisis line together (e.g., 988 in the U.S. and Canada), schedule an urgent appointment, or go to an emergency department if risk is imminent.
• Reduce access to lethal means: store firearms unloaded and locked, with ammunition locked separately; lock up or limit quantities of medications; safely dispose of unused meds.
• Make a safety plan: identify personal warning signs, coping strategies, supportive contacts, and reasons to live; write it down and keep it accessible.
• Follow up: a call or message in the days and weeks after a crisis lowers risk and reinforces connection.
• Mind your digital environment: mute or avoid content that glamorizes self-harm; share vetted resources instead.
• Care for yourself, too: supporting someone at risk can be stressful—seek guidance from professionals or support groups.

Taken together, these actions create time and space between a suicidal crisis and a fatal attempt, while signaling that help and hope are available.

What Families, Schools, Workplaces, and Communities Can Do

Prevention is most effective when the places we live, learn, and work are designed to protect mental health and reduce risk. The following strategies can be implemented at community scale.

• Normalize help-seeking: teach that mental health is health; post visible information about resources in schools, campuses, and workplaces.
• Train “gatekeepers”: equip teachers, coaches, managers, faith leaders, and first responders with skills to recognize risk and connect people to care (e.g., QPR, Mental Health First Aid, ASIST).
• Build peer support: student peer programs, veteran and LGBTQ+ peer networks, and survivor-led groups increase protective connection.
• Adopt school-based programs: evidence-backed curricula (e.g., YAM from the SEYLE study) and postvention plans reduce attempts and contagion.
• Strengthen workplace policies: expand EAP access, paid leave, flexible schedules, and clear procedures for responding to crises; address bullying and harassment.
• Promote safe storage: community campaigns for firearm locks/safes and medication lock boxes; pharmacies and clinics can distribute devices and education.
• Design safer spaces: install barriers and signage with crisis contacts at bridges, parking structures, and other hotspots; improve lighting and surveillance.
• Support high-risk groups: partner with Indigenous, rural, veteran, refugee, and LGBTQ+ organizations to tailor culturally competent services.

When communities make the safe choice the easy choice and elevate connection, they reduce the likelihood that a moment of crisis becomes irreversible.

What Health Systems and Governments Can Do

Policy and healthcare design are among the most powerful levers for sustained reductions in suicide. The following measures are supported by strong evidence.

• Expand access to care: invest in affordable mental-health and substance-use services; integrate behavioral health into primary care; remove financial and geographic barriers via telehealth.
• Implement the Zero Suicide framework: systematic screening, safety planning, lethal-means counseling, rapid follow-up after discharge, and data-driven quality improvement.
• Strengthen crisis response: fund 24/7 lines (988 in the U.S. and Canada), text/chat services, mobile crisis teams, and short-stay crisis stabilization units as alternatives to ERs or jail.
• Enact lethal-means safety policies: support safe firearm storage laws, toxic pesticide bans, blister packaging and pack-size limits for high-risk medications, and physical barriers at hotspots.
• Address social determinants: housing support, unemployment benefits, debt relief, and alcohol policy reforms mitigate drivers of distress.
• Improve data and research: real-time surveillance, timely mortality data, and evaluation of local interventions guide smarter action.
• Ensure equity: fund culturally tailored programs and workforce development to reach underserved communities.
• Support postvention: coordinated services for people bereaved by suicide reduce complicated grief and subsequent risk.

Countries that combine clinical quality improvement with means-safety and social policy changes see the largest and most durable declines in suicide rates.

Media and Tech: How Coverage and Platforms Can Save Lives

Reporting and online environments shape risk. The following practices—endorsed by WHO and leading journalism groups—reduce contagion and encourage help-seeking.

• Avoid sensational headlines, detailed descriptions of methods, or simplistic causes; do not romanticize or normalize suicide.
• Include resources prominently: crisis lines, text/chat options, and local services in every story or post related to suicide.
• Use non-stigmatizing language: “died by suicide,” not “committed”; frame suicide as preventable and linked to treatable conditions.
• Elevate stories of recovery and coping, which are protective.
• Platforms should surface help resources on related searches, detect imminent-risk content, and provide rapid human escalation pathways.

Responsible communication reduces harm and can directly connect people in crisis with immediate support.

What Works: Evidence at a Glance

Research across countries points to several interventions with measurable impact on suicide and attempts.

• Lethal means safety: barriers on bridges and railways, pesticide bans (e.g., in Sri Lanka), safe firearm storage campaigns, and medication pack-size limits have led to significant, sustained reductions.
• Brief contact and follow-up: safety planning plus phone/text “caring contacts” after ED discharge lowers repeat attempts.
• Therapies: dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) reduce self-harm and attempts in high-risk groups.
• Primary care integration: routine screening and collaborative care for depression and substance use decrease suicidal ideation and attempts.
• Crisis systems: well-resourced hotlines and mobile teams improve de-escalation and connection to ongoing care; 988 has expanded access via phone, text, and chat.

While no single measure is sufficient, multi-layered approaches consistently outperform isolated efforts and save the most lives.

Where to Find Help Now

These resources connect people to immediate, confidential support. Availability varies by country; use what’s local to you.

• United States: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call/text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org). Press 1 for Veterans, 2 for Spanish, 3 for LGBTQI+ support for youth and young adults.
• Canada: 988 (call/text) nationwide; Talk Suicide Canada at 1-833-456-4566; text 45645 in the evenings.
• United Kingdom & Ireland: Samaritans at 116 123 (free, 24/7); NHS 111 for urgent help; 999 for emergencies.
• Australia: Lifeline at 13 11 14; Beyond Blue at 1300 22 4636; 000 for emergencies.
• India: Kiran Mental Health Helpline at 14416 or 1800-599-0019; AASRA at +91-9820466726.
• Global directory: findahelpline.com or the International Association for Suicide Prevention (iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/).

If you cannot find a local number, contact emergency services or go to the nearest emergency department. Bringing someone with you, if possible, increases safety and support.

Summary

Suicide prevention works—and it’s a shared responsibility. At the personal level, ask, listen, reduce access to lethal means, make a plan, and follow up. Communities can train gatekeepers, promote safe storage, and build supportive schools and workplaces. Health systems and governments can expand access to care, strengthen crisis response, enact means-safety policies, and address social determinants. Responsible media and technology amplify these efforts. Layered together, these actions save lives and help more people find their way through a crisis to recovery.