A major brand takes an important stand.

A major brand takes an important stand.

Reinforcing its earlier commitment to suicide prevention in December, Facebook affirmed its connection to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (NSPH) and the ongoing development of social networking tools for use by subscribers during crisis intervention, according to Marne Levine, Facebook's global V.P. of public policy.

“Sometimes people turn to social networks in their most vulnerable moments, and sometimes social networks are a place where people express their deepest insecurities, disappointments, feelings of loneliness or despair, or even worse,” Levine said.

Among the tools developed so far, a confidential suicidal content report developed with the NSPH and available to every Facebook user that immediately triggers a message from a Lifeline crisis worker.

“Although the Lifeline on average handles 70,000 calls per month, we have heard from our Facebook fans and others that there are many people in crisis who don’t feel comfortable picking up the phone,” Lifeline project director John Draper said. “This new service provides a way for them to get the help they need in the way they want it.”

Levine, who formerly worked as a White House economic adviser, shared the company's ongoing support of suicide awareness and prevention on Monday and stressed the importance of connecting people in crisis to those with the tools to intervene in a timely way.

“Every suicide is a tragedy,” she said. “In collaboration with others, we can ensure that when people visit Facebook, they have access to the resources that will help them feel more connected.”

We're entering an exciting age in which major brands increasingly have the social capacity to position themselves as problem solvers beyond healthy balance sheets.

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(source: Venture Beat, 09/10/12)