The very nature of social media encourages spontaneity and this is a good thing in some incidences. We will post our unfiltered feelings on Facebook giving our friends an inkling as to our mental state. Some friends will post such dark thoughts which often times are a cry for help and a Like will not help them feel any better. Getting proactive on Facebook now might save the life of a friend going through a rough patch and the first step you can take is contact your friend directly. Starting a conversation could be what your friend needs to talk them out of committing suicide but if the situation requires professional help, you can notify Facebook and this is how: Developed in collaboration with mental health organizations and with input from people who have personal experience with self-injury and suicide, these tools first launched in the US with the help of Forefront, Lifeline, and Save.org. Today, we are rolling them out around the world in collaboration with local partners and in all languages Facebook is available in. ~Antigone Davis, Global Head of Safety and Jennifer Guadagno, Researcher
How to Notify Facebook of a Suicidal Friend
Facebook has collaborated with mental health organisations worldwide to provide this service. Teams from Facebook around the world work 24/7 to review the reports as they come in, prioritising the most serious ones such as self-injury. Facebook will send the friend you’re concerned about resources which include reaching out to a friend, contacting a helpline or seeing tips. Here’s a list of Worldwide Suicide Helplines. In East Africa, we could only find Kenya on the list but a little digging landed us on the Uganda Helpline as well. We unfortunately couldn’t find information about other East African countries.
Kenya
Befrienders Kenya https://www.befrienderskenya.org (chat support) Call or text +254 722178177 (from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM) Call or text +254 736542304 (from 7: 00 AM to 9:00 PM) [email protected]
Uganda
