Tuesday, September 16, 2014

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: We Can #EndSuicide

Headquartered in New York, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is the leading national non-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide and reaching out to people affected by mental disorders and suicide. Working toward a suicide-free world, AFSP funds scientific research that is vital to saving lives, raises awareness about mood disorders and suicide prevention, offers educational programs for professionals, promotes policies and legislation related to suicide and prevention, and offers a caring community to individuals who are struggling with self-destructive thoughts or have lost a loved one to suicide.

AFSP is a multifaceted organization that is at once a support network, a grassroots movement, a professional research group, an educator, and a grant-making foundation. While it does not provide direct services such as a crisis hotline or counseling, AFSP works closely with the organizations that do. The Foundation also manages hundreds of events in communities nationwide, raising millions of dollars annually to support its work. Each year, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reaches hundreds of thousands of people.

Since its inception in 1987, AFSP has established over 50 local chapters in 35 states and counting; mobilized and connected tens of thousands of individuals who have lost someone they love to suicide; educated hundreds of local communities about suicide and prevention; created a public policy and lobbying arm; educated the media about how to best cover suicide; and more.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention was founded by a small group of families who had each lost a loved one to suicide. Their vision was to establish a private source of support for suicide education and research and sustain important suicide prevention efforts into the future. Today, AFSP consists of survivors of suicide loss, reputable scientists, people with mental illness and their families, and business and community leaders.

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