Ritu Chatterjee

Absolutely.

Because ERs, you know, weren't set up to address mental health crises because they're intensely busy, chaotic places that just make a person already in despair, more stressed out.

So if you're a caregiver and, you know, you don't know what to say or do when a loved one discloses they're feeling suicidal, a better number to call is 988, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Yes.

Because there, trained counselors can help coach you as to how to respond to your loved one.

And they will probably echo what Ursula says.

Now, Ursula says she also tells people to validate the feelings of the person in crisis because they want to feel heard and understood.

Right.

Now, the other part of this has to do with the stigma around suicide, which, according to Jo, stems from the fact that people feeling suicidal are often looked upon as weak.

But her song calls for others to see the strength in someone feeling suicidal by understanding what they've been through.

So the song is the latest iteration of what she's trying to do.

But the film and the poem that came before are being used by the UK's National Health Service Mental Health Trust in southwest London in their suicide prevention and awareness trainings.

And by the way, Jo herself works for the UK's National Health Service Mental Health Trust, coordinating these kinds of trainings.

And I spoke with her boss, Justine Trippier, who's a psychiatric nurse, and she says using the film has made the sessions more engaging.

So sometimes this is a person who has a loved one who's suicidal that they're trying to support, and at other times it may be a new healthcare worker.

Their goal ultimately is to use the song to help make suicide prevention everyone's business.

And research shows, by the way, that when we share experiences of those who live with suicidality, it increases the likelihood that others in crisis will seek help, that they too will have a sense of hope.

Here's Ursula again.

And, you know, Emily, as data shows that for every person who dies by suicide, more than 300 feel suicidal or live with suicidality but don't die.

And Ursula says Joe's song is a much-needed reminder that with the right help, people can and do choose life despite having persistent thoughts of death.