Nearly a quarter of New Yorkers who commit suicide do it by jumping from high places, a gruesome statistic that has led state officials to install suicide-prevention telephones on a handful of bridges.
“Life Is Worth Living,” reads a small sign at the approach of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Not far from the edge of the bridge is a gray call box, which someone who is contemplating taking a deadly plunge can pick up and within seconds be connected to the Lifeline suicide-prevention hot line, officials said. In most instances, callers can be convinced to reconsider.
The phones, which were installed on the Tappan Zee and four Hudson River crossings in June, work because the majority of those who stand on the edge of the bridge are not completely committed to killing themselves, said John Draper, director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
“People just want the pain to stop,” he said. “Once they get on the bridge, once they are face to face with that moment, the thought that many of them have is ‘If only someone would just show me a sign that it’s OK to live.’ And that’s what these phones are there for.”
The suicide phones have not been installed on any city bridges, but both the MTA and the Port Authority said they are looking into it.
“We are gathering information to consider installing the phones,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels spokeswoman Catherine Sweeney.
There are 10 phones on the George Washington Bridge, but these connect to police, not to a suicide hot line, a PA spokesman said.
The city and state do not keep statistics as to how many people jump off bridges, but according the city Health Department, of the 481 people who took their lives in 2005, 107 did it by jumping.
The Mid-Hudson Bridge has had a radio box that connects to a suicide hot line for 23 years. During that time 74 callers were talked down and one jumped, officials said. Seven other people jumped without using the phone.
In the few months since the new phones were activated, the system has already saved two lives, said John Bellucci, director of planning for the state Bridge Authority.
Draper said suicide-prevention groups are working to try to get to people before they choose to go over the edge. You don’t have to head for a bridge to call the hot line, which can be reached at (800) 273-TALK.