Facebook allows instant access to suicidal users for counselling

Facebook allows instant access to suicidal users for counselling

Social media, Facebook, has just launched an instant messenger service for suicidal users. This new initiative will allow the users with suicidal thoughts to have an instant access to
crisis counsellors via the messenger.

The Facebook users with a problem and distress can request to speak to a crisis counsellor from the National Suicide Prevention organisation via the new service. Then he can have a conversation
with the counsellor straight away through the new instant messenger app.

The new initiative has started its services in the US. The service is the first of its kind where people can directly talk to a counsellor through the site. The site has been showing a
telephone number or the email address of counselling organisations, where people can call or e-mail whenever they are in distress.

For the same purpose, to launch the counselling service, in the UK, Facebook has made a partnership with the Samaritans, which is a confidential emotional support service for anyone in
the UK and Ireland. The Samaritans might not provide their services via instant messenger service but telephone or email. However, Facebook could not say when the initiative will start their service in the UK.

The process of the new initiative includes reporting to Facebook, if a friend sees a suicidal post on someone’s wall, by clicking on a link next to the comment. Then the site representative
will try to persuade the person, sending an email, to call a counselling hotline or have a confidential instant conversation with a counsellor by clicking the link provided.

Public policy manager at Facebook, Fred Wolens said, “One of the big goals here is to get the person in distress into the right help as soon as possible. The only people who will have
a really good idea of what’s going on is your friends so we’re encouraging them to speak up and giving them an easy and quick way to get help.”

The reason behind starting this new initiative is a growing number of suicide notes appearing on Facebook. After such notes on the social network, many people took their own lives sooner
or later afterwards. A man from Pittsburgh, USA, posted such a note on Facebook last month and shortly after that, he killed his wife, in-laws and then himself.

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Posted by Zeeshan Gohar on Dec 17 2011. Filed under Sci-Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry