Each year, around 135 people in NYC die by suicide by height
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Suicide by height is 10 times more common in NYC than in the United States as a whole
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Suicide by height is highly lethal, resulting in death 85% of the time
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24% of suicide attempts occur within 5 minutes of deciding to complete suicide. 48% occur within 10 minutes
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Means Safety lowers suicide rates overall
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Installation of physical barriers has been proven to significantly reduce suicides by height
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When access to one method of suicide is blocked, substitution of another method is rare
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9 out of 10 survivors of suicide attempts do not go on to die by suicide
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Each year, around 135 people in NYC die by suicide by height • Suicide by height is 10 times more common in NYC than in the United States as a whole • Suicide by height is highly lethal, resulting in death 85% of the time • 24% of suicide attempts occur within 5 minutes of deciding to complete suicide. 48% occur within 10 minutes • Means Safety lowers suicide rates overall • Installation of physical barriers has been proven to significantly reduce suicides by height • When access to one method of suicide is blocked, substitution of another method is rare • 9 out of 10 survivors of suicide attempts do not go on to die by suicide •
Raising rails and erecting barriers to reduce suicide by height.
Raise the Rail seeks to rethink our built environment to reduce suicide by height. We take a “means safety” approach -- defined as reducing access to the items and methods (“means”) that people use to die by suicide -- because means safety is proven to save lives.
We will build a community, raise awareness, provide tools for professionals, and create a movement to amend the building code.