RemedyLIVE is a 24/7 suicide prevention chat center via phone, web, and texting. They are committed to serving teens and young adults. There are certainly other suicide prevention hotlines nationally and locally, but this organization is specifically based on Christian beliefs.
If you are interested in other resources beyond RemedyLIVE, check out the ones we have listed on our mental health resources page. This is an alternative for teens who want to talk to someone who is struggling with suicidal thoughts.
The Facts About Teen Suicide
Here are some facts you may need to know about teen suicide from the latest report from the CDC’s National Vital Statistics Report.
- In 2017, suicide was the second leading cause of death for persons aged 10–14, 15–19, and 20–24.
- The suicide rate for persons aged 10-14 has nearly tripled from 2007 to 2017, settling at 2.5 deaths per 100,000 people in that age range.
- The suicide rate for ages 15-19 in 2017 was 11.8 deaths per 100,000 people in that age range.
The question researchers and people in mental health and crisis services are trying to answer is: How well do we understand what behavior in youth signals suicidal risk, and is the mental health community well-positioned to help? I don’t think the easy answer of “they just need Jesus” will end this epidemic.
About the Mission of RemedyLIVE
Here’s a quick video of one of a RemedyLIVE testimonial.
Some of the self-reported statistics they shared for 2018 include nearly 18,000 people served, having nearly 60,000 conversations, with each conversation averaging about 39 minutes.
Via their latest 2018 annual report, they say the organization “recruits SoulMedics, part-time staff, to be online so we can provide interactive chat services 24 hours a day. This guarantees that our chat clients will always have someone to interact with anonymously. Our clients find our website thanks to a monthly Google Adwords grant and a well-built website that connects them with RemedyLIVE.com when they use a search engine looking for help with a hard issue. The issues we target in our ads, through our website structure, and our on-demand video library orbit around suicidal thinking, bullying, depression, abuse, self-harm, and faith. As a Christian organization we believe that asking questions and listening to our client’s story through a technological chat conversation builds a bridge of trust and truly extends God’s love for all young people, regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, or religion.”
How To Use It?
I’d encourage youth pastors to have the chat line (text the word REMEDY to the number 494949 to chat) and website on hand. And don’t keep it to yourself: preach about it from the pulpit, put it in newsletters you give to parents, tell your volunteers about it, and make sure that your volunteers have it in their phones if they need to share it with students.
What is your youth group or church doing to help address the growing concern of suicide with teenagers?
