Suicide Prevention Hotline
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours, seven days a week. By calling 1-800-273-TALK(8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area, anytime 24/7.
Please
note that the Report Bullying hotline link on our Bentley Community
Schools' website is not staffed 24/7. While we make every attempt to
investigate each report as quickly as possible, in most cases the
reports are not handled until the next school day. If you have an
emergency, please call 911.
From time to time you may
encounter a person who is expressing thoughts of suicide on your social
media sites. If someone you know online is showing any of these warning
signs, it is important that you post a message encouraging them to call
the Lifeline. If you are friends with the person in real life or know
where the person is, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)so that you can talk to a crisis counselor.
- Writing about wanting to die or to kill oneself.
- Writing about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live.
- Writing about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain.
- Writing about being a burden to others.
- Writing about seeking revenge.
Contact Safety Teams at Social Media Sites:
- Facebook: Click here to
anonymously report someone as suicidal on Facebook. A member of
Facebook’s Safety Team will send the user an e-mail with the Lifeline
number and possibly a link to chat with Lifeline counselor.
- Twitter: Click here and
select “Self-Harm” to send an e-mail to Twitter reporting a suicidal
user. Twitter will send the user a direct message with the Lifeline
number.
- MySpace: Click on the “Report Abuse” link that appears
at the bottom of every MySpace page and complete the form. MySpace will
then send an e-mail to the MySpace user with the Lifeline number.
- YouTube:
To report suicidal content, click on the flag icon under a video and
select “Harmful Dangerous Acts” and then “Suicide or Self-Injury.” You
Tube will then review the video and may send a message to the user that
uploaded the video with the Lifeline number.
- Tumblr: Click here to
write an e-mail to Tumblr about a suicidal user. Include as much
information as possible including the URL of the Tumblr blog. A member
of Tumblr’s Safety Team will send the user an e-mail with the Lifeline
number.
The following signs may mean someone is at risk for
suicide. The risk of suicide is greater if a behavior is new or has
increased and if it seems related to a painful event, loss, or change.
If you or someone you know exhibits any of these signs, seek help as
soon as possible by calling the Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
- Talking about wanting to die or to kill themselves.
- Looking for a way to kill themselves, such as searching online or buying a gun
- Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live.
- Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain.
- Talking about being a burden to others.
- Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs.
- Acting anxious or agitated; behaving recklessly.
- Sleeping too little or too much.
- Withdrawing or isolating themselves.
- Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge.
- Displaying extreme mood swings.
For more information and resources about suicide, please visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Bentley's school liaison officer can be reached at [email protected] or
at (810) 742-2542 ext. 2214. But please again note that he will not be
available 24/7. He will investigate each report promptly, but for
emergencies call 911.