"Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year old Americans. (CDC)" (1) Suicide is an awful thing, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is a charity to help prevent it from happening.
The first reason why the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is a good charity is because they provide assistance to those in need. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has a number on their website that you can call if you are in a crisis, and talk through your problems. They answer 24/7 and will try their best to get you out of the situation your in. AFSP also has programs in all 50 states to help prevent suicide. According to their website, "The grassroots work we do focuses on eliminating the loss of life from suicide by: delivering innovative prevention programs, educating the public about risk factors and warning signs, raising funds for suicide research and programs, and reaching out to those individuals who have lost someone to suicide."(1) Suicide does not only effect the people who commits it, but it effects the family and friends who lost them. According to a Canadian study, "Another study showed that children of parents who committed suicide are at a significantly increased risk of committing suicide themselves. The younger the child at the time of the parent's suicide, the greater the risk of his or her own suicide."(2) Another study talked about the effects on parents who lost their child and that they have higher rates of depression. AFSP is a great charity because it talks to people to have lost a love one or talk to people who are thinking of committing suicide. This charity does whatever it can to help people and their families.
The second reason it is a great charity is that is has options for people to actually get involved and do something to help. Something you can do is walk for suicide. According to their website, "With nearly 250,000 people walking in 360 cities across the country, they are AFSP’s biggest fundraiser and the driver of the suicide prevention movement." (1) There are walks all over that you can participate in for suicide. Another thing you can do it create a memory quilt square. On the website, there is a place you can go and create a digital square. You can share about your loss and what your going through, and show other people they are not alone. It also honors those who committed suicide. There are people in the world who believe that suicide is not preventable. This is not true. According to The Suicide Prevention Coalition of the Eagle Valley, "Suicide is the most preventable form of death. Vaccines don’t need to be developed, or medical breakthroughs to help a person thinking of suicide. Through positive action, through caring about a person, suicide can be prevented." (3) Suicide is preventable and there are many things you can do to help. AFSP is a charity that has many ways you can do so.
The main and final reason this charity is the best charity for suicide prevention is because it really helps everyone. It helps everyone from the people wanting to commit suicide to the suicide survivors. This charity is great because there is no other charity that does as much as them. AFSP has a quilt you can make, has a walk you can participate in, you can bring prevention to your school, and many more things. I do not know of any other charity that does as much as this one. Another reason why it is the best charity is that it has programs set up in all 50 states. According to their website, “with local programs and events in all 50 states, AFSP’s chapters are at the forefront of suicide prevention. They create a culture that’s smart about mental health through education and community programs, research and advocacy, and support for those affected by suicide." (1) This is a great charity made to help anyone in need.