Lebanon loses someone every three days to suicide.
Currently, a suicide prevention helpline does not exist in the country but an organization called Embrace is working to change that. The organization has turned to crowdfunding to raise $20,000 to support its initiative.
Over the past year, the organization has already completed the first phase of its action plan for creating the helpline. The initial steps included "carrying out research to identify the prevalence of suicide in Lebanon, people's attitudes and knowledge about mental illness in Lebanon and commissioning research to determine the acceptability of the helpline by the Lebanese," according to the crowdfunding page on Zoomaal.
With the money raised through the campaign, Embrace plans to cover the hiring costs necessary to implement phase two of its action plan.
"This phase is crucial for the success and sustainability of the helpline because it will include the detailed planning and development of the helpline. This will ensure that when we reach phase 3, we will be ready to set up the call center of the helpline with the least obstacles possible."
Embrace is affiliated with the Department of Psychiatry at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. According to its Zoomaal page, one in four Lebanese suffer from mental illness and the organization "grew out of the need to fight the stigma of mental illness and to help make access to treatment easier."
If you'd like to contribute to the campaign, click here .