Robust Futures has done so much this year to move forward the goal of wellness for everyone so that they don’t want to consider suicide – but there is much more to do.  That’s why we’re asking for your support and partnership in this critical endeavor to reduce suffering and suicide.  We’re proud of what we’ve done and want to share our successes and our plans for 2025.

This past year, we were able to launch our first international project to reduce suicide.  SuicideMyths.org is different than other suicide myths and facts pages that people have posted.  Every page is evidence-supported.  We don’t call it a myth until there is research to indicate that it is one.  We’re resolving persistent concerns and discussions about items that should be settled.  We are moving forward public discourse and research priorities in more productive ways.

Our research continued as well, as we added another 28 books to our growing library of reviews on suicide prevention.  In total, we’ve reviewed 71 books about suicide prevention since the start of this journey.  We continued to spread the word with new conference presentations and work to understand how to get further upstream from suicide prevention to the reduction of suffering.

For 2025, our major investment will be in the development of a website with short (<5 minute) videos to help people learn a little bit about suicide at the time they need it most.  Whether it’s a teacher who hears a student say that they’re considering suicide, a friend’s broken voice when they call to tell you a mutual friend has died by suicide, or any of the countless ways that people realize they suddenly need to know more about suicide – and what to say – than they’ve ever had to.  At the end of each video, we’ll encourage the person to stay to learn a bit more about other important aspects of suicide that may be helpful to them.

In addition to the upfront development on this project, we’ll be relying on search advertising to connect people who need help with the website.  This transactional cost means that, as our resources expand, we’re able to connect with more people – and prevent more suffering and suicide.  Every $3 reaches another person.  Today and next week, on Giving Tuesday, we ask that you consider supporting our mission. This year, we’ve accomplished so much with our suicide prevention. With your support, we hope to accomplish so much more in 2025.