A new 3-digit suicide prevention hotline, 988, is taking calls
Starting on Saturday, individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts or other mental health crises can call a new three-digit hotline, 988, to get help.
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
A young woman was talked off the ledge of a bridge as she was considering taking her own life.
Lauren Elizabeth, a 23-year-old mother of two from Canterbury, England, told SWNS she was struggling with her mental health leading up to the event.
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After finishing a cigarette, Elizabeth stood on the top of an overpass in the town that she and her two kids live in — and was ready to jump when an off-duty paramedic spotted her.
"She pulled up, and I was crying," she said to SWNS about the woman who pulled up her car to the side.
"She said, ‘Are you OK?' and I said, ‘I’m fine, leave me alone.’"
Lauren Elizabeth had been struggling with her mental health at the time and had resolved to end her life after finishing her last cigarette. (SWNS)
Elizabeth went on to explain that the off-duty paramedic said she was going to "pull around the corner" — and the rest was a blur to her.
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Elizabeth said the police showed up and brought her to the back of an officer’s car.
The young mom of two said she went to an overpass in her town and was preparing to take her own life. (SWNS)
"I broke down and told them everything," she said.
The mom of two was taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, England, before being transferred to a signposting unit where she was further assessed, according to SWNS.
Elizabeth, who lives in Ashford, England, with her two children — ages 6 and 4 — said she owes the paramedic "everything."
Lauren Elizabeth said she'd been struggling with her mental health at the time and had resolved to end her life after finishing her last cigarette. (SWNS)
"If it wasn’t for the paramedic who stopped that night, I wouldn’t have got the help I needed or been able to see my children grow up," she told SWNS.
Elizabeth was able to speak with the paramedic to express her appreciation — saying that if the woman hadn’t shown up and taken the time to speak with her, she wouldn’t be here today.
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"There was very little that would have changed my mind — it was more that somebody was there," she said.
A 23-year-old mom of two in the United Kingdom credits an off-duty paramedic for saving her life. (SWNS)
Elizabeth said she is in a much better place now.
She hopes that others will stop and think next time they see something similar.
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"It can really help to know that people care," she said.
She also said, "Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."
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