A new Facebook initiative attempts to prevent more suicides by allowing users to report comments under a new “Report Suicidal Content” link. The person who posted the concerning comment will immediately receive an e-mail from Facebook that encourages them to call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or to click on a chat session with a crisis counselor.

The Lifeline, which is funded by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), has answered more than 3 million calls since its inception in 2005. Before this initiative began, the Lifeline was responding to dozens of individuals every day who had expressed suicidal thoughts on Facebook, so this new service is simply an extension of that work. As many suicidal individuals do not want to pick up the phone, this online chat service allows them another way to get the help they need and enables friends to intervene immediately and help identify those who may be in urgent need of help.

Approximately 36,000 individuals commit suicide in the U.S. every year – twice the number of murders in the country. Do you think this initiative will help to lower that number in the coming years?