I'm worried about someone else
You think someone you know may be suicidal, and you don't know what to do.
Also searched as: helping a friend, concerned about someone, how to help.
Talk to someone now
These are checked, reachable from anywhere. Choose your own country for a local number instead.
International Association for Suicide Prevention
- Start a chat
Browse crisis centres by country
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
Checked 18 September 2026 against their own page
Child Helpline International
- Start a chat
Find your country's child helpline
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
- You do not have to give your name
Checked 18 September 2026 against their own page
Services for this
Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide
HopeLine 24/7 — confidential support for anyone under 35 with thoughts of suicide, and for anyone worried about a young person.
- 0300 102 2470
Call HopeLine 24/7
Open 24 hours a day, every day.
Open 24 hours, every day
- Charged at your standard rate
- You do not have to give your name
Checked 25 August 2026 against their own page
- HOPE to 88247
Text HOPE to 88247
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
- You do not have to give your name
Checked 25 August 2026 against their own page
- pat@papyrus-uk.org
Email HopeLine 24/7
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
Checked 25 August 2026 against their own page
C.A.L.L. Mental Health Helpline for Wales
Wales' 24-hour mental health listening and signposting line, in English and Welsh.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
The United States' national crisis line. Call or text 988 from anywhere in the country, at any hour, free.
- 988
Call 988
Free from any phone in the US, 24 hours a day.
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
- Interpreters available
Checked 25 August 2026 against their own page
- 988
Text 988
Texting reaches the same trained counselors as the phone line. Text AYUDA to 988 for a Spanish-speaking counselor.
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
Checked 25 August 2026 against their own page
- Start a chat
Chat with 988 online
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
Checked 25 August 2026 against their own page
- Connect
ASL videophone service for Deaf and hard of hearing callers
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
Checked 25 August 2026 against their own page
NAMI HelpLine
Information, resource referrals and support for people affected by mental illness, and their families.
9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline
Canada's national three-digit crisis line. Call or text 988, free, in English or French, at any hour.
- 988
Call 988
Free from any phone in Canada, 24 hours a day.
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
- Interpreters available
Checked 26 August 2026 against their own page
- 988
Text 988
Texting reaches the same trained responders as the phone line.
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
Checked 26 August 2026 against their own page
Suicide Call Back Service
Free professional counselling for anyone affected by suicide — including scheduled call-backs, not just a single conversation.
Aware
Support for people affected by depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder, and for the people close to them.
- 1800 80 48 48
Call the Aware Support Line
Open 10am to 10pm, every day.
Every day 10:00–22:00
- Free to call
- Freephone number
Checked 18 September 2026 against their own page
Lifeline Aotearoa
A 24/7 telephone and text counselling service staffed by trained volunteers and counsellors.
TelefonSeelsorge
Germany's national telephone and online counselling service, free and around the clock, on two freephone numbers and 116 123.
- 0800 111 0 111
Call TelefonSeelsorge
Free from any phone in Germany, 24 hours a day.
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
- Freephone number
- You do not have to give your name
- Does not appear on an itemised bill
Checked 21 August 2026 against their own page
- 0800 111 0 222
Second TelefonSeelsorge line
A second freephone number for the same service — try it if the first is busy.
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
- Freephone number
- You do not have to give your name
- Does not appear on an itemised bill
Checked 21 August 2026 against their own page
- 116 123
Call 116 123
The Europe-wide emotional support number, answered in Germany by TelefonSeelsorge.
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
- You do not have to give your name
Checked 21 August 2026 against their own page
3114 — Numéro national de prévention du suicide
France's national suicide prevention line, answered by health professionals, free and 24/7 from anywhere in the country.
Suicide Écoute
A long-running French association listening line, anonymous and open 24/7, separate from the national 3114 number.
113 Zelfmoordpreventie
The Dutch national suicide prevention line and chat service, free to call.
De Luisterlijn
A Dutch confidential listening line, staffed by volunteers, reachable day and night all year round.
Zelfmoordlijn 1813
Flanders' suicide prevention line — phone, chat and email, free and open every hour of the day.
Centre de Prévention du Suicide
A French-language suicide prevention listening line for Wallonia and Brussels, free, anonymous and open around the clock.
- 0800 32 123
Call the Ligne d'écoute
Free from any phone in Belgium, 24 hours a day. Serves French-speaking Belgium; Dutch-speaking callers are served by Zelfmoordlijn 1813.
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
- Freephone number
- You do not have to give your name
Checked 25 August 2026 against their own page
Livslinien
Denmark's suicide prevention line, staffed by trained volunteers, plus chat and email.
- 70 20 12 01
Call Livslinien
Every day 09:00–05:00
- You do not have to give your name
- Charged at your standard rate
Checked 27 August 2026 against their own page
SIND — Den Landsdækkende Telefonrådgivning
Denmark's nationwide phone counselling about mental illness, run by SIND — not a crisis line.
Línea 024
Spain's national suicidal-behaviour helpline, run by the Ministry of Health — free, confidential and 24/7.
Fundación ANAR — Teléfono/Chat ANAR de Ayuda a Niños/as y Adolescentes
Spain's free, confidential helpline for children and adolescents, run by Fundación ANAR.
- 900 20 20 10
Call from anywhere in Spain
Free and confidential. "Si nos llamas desde toda España."
Hours not confirmed
- Free to call
- You do not have to give your name
Checked 27 August 2026 against their own page
- 116 111
Call 116 111
The EU child helpline number, listed for Aragón, Asturias, Baleares, Canarias, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Ceuta, Extremadura, La Rioja, Navarra, Madrid, Melilla, Murcia and Valenciana.
Hours not confirmed
- Free to call
- You do not have to give your name
Checked 27 August 2026 against their own page
SADAG — South African Depression and Anxiety Group
Southern Africa's largest mental health support organisation, running a national suicide crisis helpline and many condition-specific lines.
TelefonSeelsorge Österreich
Austria's free emotional support line on 142, staffed around the clock.
Rat auf Draht
Austria's round-the-clock emergency number for children and young people.
Pro Juventute 147
Switzerland's round-the-clock support line for young people, run by Pro Juventute.
TELL Lifeline
An English-language lifeline for anyone living in Japan, run by TELL.
- 0800-300-8355
Call TELL Lifeline
Their own page labels this number "TOLL FREE".
Mon 00:00–23:00; Tue–Thu 09:00–23:00; Fri 09:00–00:00; Sat 00:00–02:00; Sat 09:00–00:00; Sun 00:00–23:59 (We are available from Saturday 09:00 – Monday 23:00 (continuous service), Tuesday – Thursday 09:00 – 23:00, and Friday 09:00 – 02:00.)
- Free to call
- Freephone number
Checked 27 August 2026 against their own page
National Institute of Mental Health, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's government-run National Mental Health Helpline.
- 1926
Call 1926
Hours not confirmed
Checked 27 August 2026 against an official government page
Centro de Asistencia al Suicida — Buenos Aires
Argentina's suicide assistance centre, on a free national number and a Buenos Aires short code.
- 0800 345 1435
Call from anywhere in Argentina
Free from any phone in Argentina.
Hours not confirmed
- Free to call
- Freephone number
- You do not have to give your name
Checked 21 August 2026 against their own page
- 135
Call 135
Dialled within Buenos Aires city and province.
Hours not confirmed
- Free to call
- You do not have to give your name
Checked 21 August 2026 against their own page
Find A Helpline
A free directory of verified crisis helplines in more than 130 countries, searchable by country and by how you want to talk.
International Association for Suicide Prevention
The global professional body for suicide prevention, which maintains a country-by-country index of crisis centres.
- Start a chat
Browse crisis centres by country
Open 24 hours, every day
- Free to call
Checked 18 September 2026 against their own page
Reading and tools for this
- GuideWhen someone refuses help
What you can and cannot do when the person you are worried about will not see anyone — and how to stay useful anyway.
- GuideSupporting someone from a distance
You are in another country, another city, or on the other end of a phone. What still works, and what to do when you cannot get there.
- GuideWhen someone you love is self-harming
What to do and say in the first few days after finding out, why it doesn't automatically mean what you're most afraid of, and how to stay useful without watching constantly.
- Myth“Asking about suicide plants the idea”
The single most harmful myth in this whole area, because it produces silence in exactly the conversation that needs words.
- Myth“People who talk about it never do it”
A piece of folk wisdom that trains people to discount the exact disclosure they most need to hear.
- Myth“There is never any warning”
Sometimes true, frequently not — and the belief stops people looking for signs that are genuinely there.
- Myth“They seem better, so the worst is over”
The most dangerous myth on this page, because it withdraws support at the exact moment the evidence says to increase it.
- Myth“It was just attention-seeking”
The phrase treats needing attention as a reason to withhold it, and it is applied hardest to the people at highest risk.
- Myth“Talking about it makes it worse”
A real finding about media reporting, misapplied to private conversations, where the opposite is true.
- Myth“They just want to die”
Understanding this changes what you say, because it means there is almost always something on the other side of the argument.
- Myth“If they have decided, nothing will stop them”
This one produces despair in supporters and inaction in institutions, and it is contradicted by some of the strongest evidence in the field.
- Myth“Self-harm is attempted suicide”
Read as a step toward suicide, self-harm gets treated as an emergency that overrides the actual question. Read as "not a real attempt", it gets dismissed. Neither is right.
- Workplace packAn employee has told you they are suicidal
What to do in the next hour, what you are and are not responsible for, and the two mistakes managers most commonly make.
- Workplace packWhat a manager is and is not responsible for
You are not a clinician and you are not a crisis service. What that leaves you with is still substantial.
- School packA student has told you they are suicidal
What to say, what you cannot promise, and how to hand it on without the student feeling reported.