Media Advisory - Facebook and Kids Help Phone encourage young people to Help a Friend in Need on World Suicide Prevention Day

TORONTO, Sept. 3, 2014 /CNW/ - At an event in recognition of World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10, Facebook Canada and Kids Help Phone will announce Help A Friend in Need, a resource aimed at youth that provides simple, practical tips to help a friend who might be in emotional distress.

Featuring speaker Michael Landsberg, Host of Off The Record on TSN, the event will teach students to spot signs of emotional distress, techniques for reaching out to help, how to tell an adult and what to do in case of emergency. Help A Friend in Need is aimed a youth ages 15-20, and specifically deals with potential warning signs in online behaviour that might indicate a friend is thinking of suicide.

So far in 2014, 7.5 per cent of young people who have contacted Kids Help Phone have spoken about suicide as the primary reason they reach out, representing thousands of kids from every part of Canada.

WHAT:	Facebook and Kids Help Phone present: Help a Friend in Need
WHEN:	September 10, 8:45 a.m. EST
WHERE:	Facebook Canada head office, 1401-2300 Yonge St., Toronto ON (corner of Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. West)
WHO:	Jordan Banks, Managing Director, Facebook Canada
	Sharon Wood, President and CEO, Kids Help Phone
	Michael Landsberg, Host, TSN Off The Record and Founder, Sick Not Weak
	Students from Northern Secondary School and Ryerson University
	Caitlin, Counsellor, Kids Help Phone

**All media who wish to attend must RSVP by 5:00 p.m. EST on September 5, 2014 to [email protected] or [email protected]**

About Facebook Canada
Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.  All other brand or product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. 

About Kids HelpPhone

Kids Help Phone is a Canadian and world leader, known for its expertise and continuous innovation as Canada's only 24/7 professional counselling and information service for young people. Since 1989, it has offered kids, teens, and young adults a critical lifeline of hope and support through its free, anonymous service, which research shows significantly improves youth mental health. Young people reach out to Kids Help Phone's counsellors from every corner of the country via phone, Live Chat, and web post, and also benefit from its database of 46,000 local youth-serving programs. Kids Help Phone's websites and Always There app, both widely recognized models of youth-focused design, offer therapeutic tools, games, information, and counselling. As an organization that speaks with young people every day, Kids Help Phone works to share their perspectives and improve their well-being on a societal level. Kids Help Phone raises the majority of its revenue from individuals, foundations, corporations, and community fundraising; thanks to its generous donors, it can be there – always – for the 6.5 million young people in Canada between five and 20, in English and in French.

SOURCE: Facebook® Canada

Media Contact: Stephanie Sharpe, High Road for Facebook Canada, [email protected] / (416)-644-2241; Jennifer Long, Kids Help Phone, [email protected] / (416)-586-5437 x8331