Talking to someone with suicidal thoughts

Available for over a year

The rock legend Jon Bon Jovi made headlines around the world and earned much praise after he was seen helping a distressed woman on the ledge of a bridge in Nashville, Tennessee. He approached her, talked to her, and gave her a warm hug after she climbed back to safety. “What I’ve noticed is the most potent medicine that I can give somebody is a caring heart and a hug in their times of trial,” says first responder Marc Maikoski who has been involved in many such incidents in his own area in California. Marc and our other guests discuss how “seeing” an individual can be the crucial moment for a person in a dark moment and how the intervention of a stranger, who takes the time and shows the courage to talk, can turn a situation around. Kevin Hines jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge in 2000 and, against all odds, survived the fall. He is now a mental health campaigner and says if anyone had reached out to him in kindness as he travelled in desperation to the bridge, he would not have jumped. “It would have been that simple. I had made a pact with myself on the bus that if one person said something like that, I would have told them everything and begged them to save me.” Kevin adds: “There's no reason why we could not be more aware of the people around us because everybody needs help sometimes. And just because they're not asking for help doesn't mean we can't go up to them and say: ‘Hey, how you going? Are you okay? Is there anything I can do for you?’” Hosted by Andrew Peach, Krupa Padhy and Luke Jones. A Boffin Media production in partnership with the BBC OS team (Photo: Kevin Briggs, a police officer, talking to Kevin Bertha, who was contemplating taking his own life at the Golden Gate Bridge. Credit: Kevin Briggs)