ACTS Suicide Helpline Gets Grant

A Prince William County area program to provide support for those considering suicide got a boost with a new $20,000 grant from the Stafford Hospital this week.

The ACTS Helpline provides a 24/7 service for crisis and suicide prevention in Prince William and Stafford counties. The Helpline responds to individuals in crisis, provides prevention and intervention training, and reaches out to those whose lives have been impacted by suicide.

In a press release Tuesday, ACTS announced that the Stafford Hospital Board had approved a $20,000 Community Service grant for the Helpline. The release said the grant will provide support for the Helpline to answer over 15,000 calls in 2012, establish a Survivor Support Team, expand the community education program and provide a daily phone check-in program for elderly, disabled and homebound individuals. 

For the past nineteen years Helpline has offered Surviving After Suicide, a support group that offers a safe, non-judgmental, environment to those individuals bereaved by suicide.

The phone number for the 24/7 Helpline is 703-368-4141.