(wind whooshing)

(keyboard keys clicking)

- [Paul] The suicide rate is now as bad

as the other worst time in America

for people killing themselves,the Great Depression.

But it'd be much higher than the present

14 out of 100,000 people,if medical advances

weren't thwarting so manyof today's suicide attempts.

- Our suicide rate would be anywhere

from 100 per 100,000 to 300 per 100,000,

Meaning the highest it's ever been,

anywhere in history,any country, anything.

- [Paul] In "Hope Always,

How You Can Be a Force ForLife in a Culture of Suicide,"

former emergency departmentDr. Matthew Sleeth

sees much hopelessness in an America

leaving the spiritual behind.

- We're seeing the effect of society

having unmoored itselffrom the anchor of God.

- [Paul] Which frayswhat held us together,

like family and faith.

(lightning crackling)

But leave room for the devil,

who's been encouragingsuicide since Adam and Eve.

- They were told that if theydid this particular thing,

they would die, they would surely die,

and they did it andsomeone was pushing them,

and that was Satan.

Every time Satan shows up in scripture,

there's a trail of dead bodies.

- [Paul] Faith got Jobthrough Satan's many efforts

to get him to kill himself.

And Jesus countered thedevil with scripture.

Those two, faith and scripture,

are available to everyone,

and they do actually shield people.

In, "Hope Always," Sleethwrites, "For well over a century,

it has been known by the medical community

that a belief in Godhas a protective effect

when it comes to suicide."

But more than just restin that protection,

Sleeth advocates that Christians learn

how to see the warning signs of suicide,

and learn how to protectpeople contemplating it,

how to ask them if they are.

- A lot of people are hesitant to do that

because they think they might put the idea

in someone's mind.

- [Paul] But studies show.

- Asking someone actuallydecreases the chances

that they will, because it says I care,

and I care enough to ask you

about this very difficult thing.

- [Paul] Here are the essentialthings to ask someone.

- [Matthew] Are you thinkingabout harming yourself?

If the answer is yes, you haveto ask, do you have a plan?

If they're thinkingabout harming themselves,

and they have a plan, then youask, do they have the means?

If all of those three things are positive,

you got an emergency.

- [Paul] Sleeth writes, "If someone's plan

is to shoot themselves, get thefirearms out of their house.

If they plan to overdose,get rid of the pills."

- [Matthew] And you need to dial 911.

- There are good actions for us to take,

even if we aren'tface-to-face with someone

actively thinking of killing themselves.

- Putting 1-800-273-TALK,

that's the National SuicideHotline in your phone,

so that you can haveit to give to somebody,

just says I cared and I'mprepared, and I wanna help you.

- [Paul] Here's a way toback off from the edge,

if you or someone youknow is feeling desperate.

Slow down, and do what Sleeth calls

the H.A.L.T check, H-A-L-T.

- [Matthew] When we are hungry,angry, lonely, or tired,

it's the time to make any decision.

Do that systems analysis.

Are you hungry? Are you angry?

Are you lonely? Are you tired?

- It's especially important to teach this

to young folks in your life,

because without coolingoff and taking time

to do a H.A.L.T check,young people in particular

are vulnerable to doing something rash.

- [Matthew] We know that manyyoung people in particular,

that the time between when they think

they're going to commit suicide,and when they act on that

is as short as 45 minutes.

- [Paul] Sleeth's final words

in the message of hisnew book, "Hope Always,"

is that you actually can save the lives

of those thinking of taking theirs.

You can move them backfrom that deadly cliff.

The author writes, "At some level,

every person knows thatcommitting suicide is wrong.

I think that most want to be asked

whether they are thinking about it.

They wanna share the burden.

Most want to be stopped."

- You really can make a difference,

if you get them over that suicide crisis,

most people will go on tolive a normal lifespan.

- [Paul] Paul Strand,"CBN News," Washington.