PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Fiodhna O'Grady, Director of Government Relations at The Samaritans of New York
1:34:47
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4 min
Fiodhna O'Grady from The Samaritans of New York testified in support of peer-to-peer mental health support initiatives, emphasizing the effectiveness of well-trained non-clinical responders in suicide prevention. She highlighted the urgency of addressing youth mental health issues in New York City and the potential benefits of peer support frameworks.
- O'Grady stressed that suicide prevention is "everybody's business" and that peers are often the first to recognize when someone is struggling.
- She cited research showing that well-trained non-clinical responders can be more effective than clinical counterparts in providing immediate empathetic support during crisis calls.
- The testimony addressed the nuances of discussing suicide with youth and the importance of creating a non-judgmental, supportive environment for these conversations.
Fiodhna O'Grady
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Good morning.
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My name is Fianna O'Grady, as you know, and I'm director of government relations for Samaritans.
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For over 40 years, Samaritans has been a steadfast provider of suicide prevention services in New York City.
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Our 24 hour hotline is the cornerstone of this effort, offering the only anonymous and
UNKNOWN
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completely confidential crisis service to New Yorkers.
Fiodhna O'Grady
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At Samaritans, we've Samaritans, we believe that suicide prevention is everybody's business, and this philosophy includes peers.
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Peers are so often left out of the formal suicide prevention networks, yet they are frequently the first to recognize when someone is struggling.
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They are already trusted by their friends, removing one of the major barriers to accessing services stigma and fear of judgment.
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We know from research including studies of hotlines like ours that well trained non clinical responder responders such as volunteers or peers are often actually more effective than clinical counterparts.
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And this is documented in in providing immediate empathetic support during crisis calls.
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And this was done by a leading international, Brian Michara, way back.
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This evidence underscores the potential of peer support frameworks when peers are empowered with the right tools and knowledge they are, that they can provide critical life saving interventions that are as you say complementary in in ways that traditional clinical systems cannot.
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The urgency of this work is reflected in the data.
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Nearly 1 in 3 of our New York City high schools students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness 2023.
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Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among New Yorkers aged 15 to 24.
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DOHMH 2023.
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Vulnerable groups including LGBTQ plus youth and students of color, experience disproportionately high rates of suicide.
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And I'll just digress to say the young people who just spoke, they're talking about, you know, pain and that is the essence of suicide.
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That suicide becomes an act that will solve your pain, but and then you have risk factors and you have protective factors.
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But it's a maladaptation cry for help.
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And when we have people who are non judgmental who are supportive like a soft entry for youth talking about suicide and using the word suicide does not make someone more suicidal.
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In fact, it recognizes the elephant in the room and it says I hear you.
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You were suicidal and I'm okay to listen.
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And yes, they will have to do some kind of an assessment in terms of like do you feel suicide?
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Do you have a plan?
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Do you have the means available?
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And do you have a time set?
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Now this is a very nuanced thing and it doesn't mean that the person who can feel suicidal, which many of us do in as we know in life, you can have a feeling.
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But it doesn't mean just like you can have you can have a cold, but you can still go to school.
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You can have flu.
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You can have pneumonia.
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You can have emphysema.
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It's the same to and so we have to be nuanced.
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But a soft entry is wonderful for, we think it's and we applaud you for your efforts.
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And I think also it is a pressure release valve.
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In other words, at training class we think about a balloon where someone's in crisis or or or they're feeling really bad.
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The more air there is, the more probability of it bursting.
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Whereas if you have a pressure release valve, then you can handle the next trauma, you can handle the next thing.
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So speaking and being able to share your truth.
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And without judgement and without also that like you know in in some cases as we know being transported or brought to hospital because you've been because you have not been assessed properly.
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We know from the studies of adults at least that after they come out of being forced to go to you know a hospital because of how they feel can have trauma which is studied for many so we do have to be careful you will have to do debriefing.
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But I believe that it's a wonderful step and done carefully we applaud you.
