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Newsroom

Welcome to the SF Suicide Prevention Newsroom.

We are happy to provide information on suicide prevention.  We believe the more we understand about suicide now, the more we can prevent suicides in the future. Our staff is available for interviews or background information, and we return media calls quickly.  If you need any information, please contact Eve Meyer, Executive Director at 415/984-1900 x101, evem@sfsuicide.org or David Paisley, Deputy Director at 415/984-1900 x106, davidp@sfsuicide.org.

Press Resources

 

Jane Tsang, Eve Meyer, and Saul Feldman of the National Action Alliance “Working together, the Action Alliance and local programs such as San Francisco Suicide Prevention can make a difference.”

 

 

 

San Francisco Suicide Prevention Quick Fact Sheet

Who We Are:
San Francisco Suicide Prevention is the oldest community-based crisis line service in the United States.  In an average year, we answer 60,000 calls, making us one of the busiest in the country as well.  Over 500 other agencies nationally now use our cost-effective model of operation.
What We Do:
A 12-member staff trains 120 community volunteers in telephone crisis intervention, and operates the 24-hour hotlines they answer.  This is also the home of the AIDS/HIV Nightline, Linea de Apoyo, and the Youth Risk Reduction programs.  We train over 1000 medical, human service, faith, and criminal justice professionals in suicide prevention each year.
Who Our Clients Are:
Every year, our 17,000+ telephone clients and 70,000 calls come from all communities and all walks of life.  We never know their names or faces. Many use our services during one crisis and never call again.  Others — primarily people with severe chronic mental illnesses — may call regularly in order to survive.  Youth prevention services account for another 10,000 client contacts.

Our Budget:The entire agency operates on a budget of just over $800,000, of which 22% is used for business office and fundraising functions.  Many of our employees are part-time, either because they are students or because they perform the same functions on a part-time basis for other agencies.Our Accomplishments:The suicide rate in San Francisco has dropped by half since our services began. We have been open to assist the community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for over 45 years. We have trained over 70,000 young people since our Youth Risk Reduction Program began.  Since 1962, we have trained over 3,500 community volunteers who often then enter the mental health field afterwards.  We have provided crisis intervention training to the staffs of hundreds of mental health and substance abuse agencies in San Francisco.Tax ID Number:94-1581618