Men's Sheds

Over the past several years, Lithuania has implemented a comprehensive national strategy to combat high suicide rates by shifting from a medicalized approach to community-based support. One such strategy is Sidabrinė Linija, or Silver Line, a nonprofit offering free support to isolated seniors by matching them with a “befriender” who shares some of their interests. Since its inception, Silver Line has befriended 6,000 seniors. As a result of combined efforts from multiple initiatives, Lithuania’s suicide rate has dropped from 44 per 100,000 residents in 2004 to 19.5 per 100,000 today.

New York State's partnership with ElliQ, a tabletop AI companion robot distributed free to low-income, socially isolated seniors through the state's Office for the Aging, aims to address the elderly loneliness crisis. Launched in 2022 with an initial pilot of 800 devices, the program has since expanded to 15 government agencies across multiple states. 94% of users report feeling less lonely after living with the robot.

Teen Line operates a peer-to-peer mental health hotline where trained teenage volunteers provide support to other teens struggling with stress, depression, relationships, and suicidal thoughts. High school volunteers have been completing rigorous 3-month training in active listening, crisis response, and emotional regulation as part of this program since 1980. Over 40+ years of operation, Teen Line has logged 10,000+ annual contacts with a 98% caller satisfaction rate.

Connecticut colleges are implementing QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training to teach students how to recognize suicide warning signs, ask direct questions like "Are you thinking about suicide?" and connect peers to professional help. Since 2022, over 1,000 people have been trained through Connecticut Children's Youth Suicide Prevention Center alone, with hundreds more trained at individual campuses like Southern Connecticut State University.

PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) organizations are tackling the growing crisis of elder homelessness by expanding beyond traditional medical services to secure housing. These Medicaid and Medicare-funded organizations are partnering with senior housing providers, leasing apartment wings, and even developing their own housing projects to ensure their 83,000+ participants nationwide have stable places to live.

Shingle Springs’ Health and Wellness Center provide culturally relevant mental health care to tribal citizens and Native people, making care more accessible, comfortable and effective for those who need it. The Center has about 40,000 visits a year and 8,000 consistent patients.

Outback Mind operates community-based, peer-led men's circles across rural and regional Australia where local men facilitate regular gatherings that teach emotional literacy and create safe spaces for men to express emotions. Last year, up to 2,500 men attended these circles and reported feeling more capable of processing emotions they’d previously ignore.

King County, Washington, is building an alternative mental health care system to avoid escalating unnecessary 911 calls and including law enforcement when it’s not necessarily needed. The County created a mental health-focused response team in collaboration with the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline to divert calls that don’t pose a safety risk and help de-escalate situations. The communications center that fields most of the calls says they get about 20 transfers to the 988 line each month.

Nuci’s Space aims to prevent suicide by providing a safe space for people of all ages, particularly youth, to connect and play music. They also offer affordable practice spaces and mental and physical health care services for participants, including affordable counseling.

Gaggle monitors student behaviors on school devices using AI software to identify keywords on the device that could indicate a mental health crisis. The AI alerts a Gaggle employee, who evaluates the situation and elevates it to the school and local law enforcement if necessary.