Help for Mental Health Crisis

Odds are, someone reading this may be experiencing personal, financial, or professional troubles right now that are impacting his or her quality of life. When these burdens seem insurmountable, and they are unable to cope in a healthy way, taking their own life may seem like the only solution to resolve the issue or bring relief.

Trust me, regardless of the situation, you are valuable in this world. There is hope, and you can work with others in your life to find a healthy outcome. If only one person reads this today and finds a solution, this post will have served its purpose. The statistics are serious—according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , suicide was responsible for over 48,000 deaths in 2021.

Please share these resources—even if you do so passively, like pinning them up on your fridge or bulletin board at work. Many people in this situation suffer in silence and don’t know how to ask for help.

Urgent resources if you are in crisis:

• Dial 988. This is the new, national crisis and suicide prevention lifeline. You can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to connect immediately with mental health professionals who can support you and help you map out a plan for getting well.
• If you’re an employee at BAE Systems, use BAE Systems, Inc., mental wellness and medical benefits , our Employee Assistance Program , and the Resilience Hub in OneSpace . Together, you can obtain psychotherapy, help from a social worker, meditation and breath training, and the full realm of medical interventions available for mental health crisis.
• Access free emergency medical care for veterans in suicidal crisis at any U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or private facility. The US Department of Veterans Affairs recently rolled out free emergency medical care for all military veterans in suicidal crisis. This means any possible or perceived financial barriers have been removed. Veterans will not be responsible for any fees or copays associated with ambulance rides to hospitals or their care at a medical facility.

Ongoing resources for prevention and support:

• Subscribe to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) . Create a free account to get all the latest updates, participate in online discussion groups, and share your voice to inspire others.
• Review Mental Health & Wellness Pledges . At the turn of the year, our leaders at BAE Systems, Inc. develop and share pledges to support employees’ and their own mental health and wellness. These include actions to take care of their own mental health, check-in and advocate for others’ mental health, create psychological safety, and refer others to seek care when needed.

Let’s keep safety first by connecting with each other, checking in about our mental health and wellness, and advocating for the help we may need.