OKLAHOMA CITY - HeartLine manages a suicide prevention program called The Healthy Education for Life Program (HELP). HELP provides free, interactive training to increase awareness and empower students to prevent bullying and suicide among peers. As of January 28, HELP is halfway to its goal of reaching 6,000 students in this fiscal year. Since August 2014, 3,000 Oklahoma youth have learned invaluable information about the warning signs of suicide and how to get help for themselves or a friend.

HELP presentations are led by HeartLine staff and volunteers. The next training session for HELP volunteer facilitators will be held on February 21st from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.  Pre-registration and full attendance is required. Please contact HeartLine’s School-Based Prevention Coordinator Kayley Saunders, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 405.840.9396 ext. 135, for more information on becoming a HELP volunteer.

About HELP

In Oklahoma, suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10 – 24.  Our state ranks 7th in the nation in its rate of suicide deaths. The vision of HELP is to equip Oklahoma youth with the knowledge and intervention skills to prevent youth suicide.  HELP works towards this vision by providing Oklahoma youth with an interactive, multi-faceted training. Through the combination of a video, lecture, and group activity, students learn the warning signs of suicide and how to get help for themselves or for a friend.  The video-based program currently reaches approximately 6,000 youth each year. In the 2012-2013 school year, 30.8% of students identified themselves or a friend as being at risk for depression or suicide.

HELP learning opportunities focus on dispelling the negative stigma of getting help for mental illness and suicidal tendencies, understanding the warning signs of suicide in peers, and learning how to take action so that at-risk students are identified and receive the help they need. Ask-Listen-Tell is the cornerstone of HELP and is a simple and easily remembered model that students can employ if they suspect a peer is depressed or suicidal.

In 2008, HeartLine’s HELP initiative was recognized on the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Suicide Prevention Resource Center Best Practices Registry. The initiative includes a 20-minute video, role playing activities, an interactive story board activity, and the cornerstone of HELP: the Ask-Listen-Tell model. HELP presentations also include a brief evaluation in which students have the opportunity to self-identify as being at risk for depression or suicide.

About HeartLine

HeartLine is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been serving Oklahoma since 1971, and provides access to health and human services, suicide prevention outreach programs, listening and crisis intervention services. Call Specialists are available 24 hours a day through HeartLine’s phone-based services, including 2-1-1, 848-CARE, the Oklahoma Problem Gambling Helpline: 1-800-522-4700, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK. HeartLine is a United Way Partner Agency. www.heartlineoklahoma.org.