If you need help now

In an urgent or emergency situation, there are many places you can go for immediate support.

If you are a student who is concerned that you might harm yourself, or if you are facing an imminent life-threatening situation, you should contact an emergency or crisis support service as quickly as possible.

Below are details of the main emergency and crisis support services. Unless it says otherwise, these are open 24 hours a day, every day.

Emergency and crisis support services

999

If there is an immediate emergency and you require the police, ambulance or fire services call 999.

If you are not able to make phone calls, services such as 999 BSL and Relay UK provide emergency contact relays for hearing or speech impaired people in the UK. Available 24/7.

In case of overdose you must seek immediate medical help by calling 999, even if you do not feel unwell. The effects of an overdose can be delayed by hours (even days) and can be fatal.

NHS urgent mental health helpline

Find a local NHS urgent mental health helpline in England. You can call for 24-hour advice and support. Urgent mental health helplines are free to call.

Crisis text service for deaf people

SignHealth, Shout and Crisis Text Line run a text-based service for Deaf people. If you text DEAF to 85258 a trained crisis volunteer will respond. 

Text DEAF to 85258 – open 24/7. The service is free to text from major UK mobile networks – find out more on the SignHealth website.

Crisis teams

You can find your local crisis support services on the NHS website. If you are in North Yorkshire, York or Selby and you are experiencing a mental health crisis you should call NHS 111 and select the mental health option if you are worried about:

• Thoughts about your life not being worth living or about harming yourself.
• Feeling out of control or unable to cope.
• Feeling anxious about leaving the house.
• Hearing voices or seeing things that others can’t.

Hospital

You can make your way to any hospital which has an Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department. It might help to ask someone to accompany you. The NHS Accident and emergency services search will help you find your nearest hospital.

Free listening services

These services offer confidential support from trained volunteers. You can talk about anything that's troubling you, no matter how difficult:

• Call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: jo@samaritans.org for a reply within 24 hours.
• Text "SHOUT" to 85258 to contact the Shout Crisis Text Line.
• PAPYRUS offer a confidential suicide prevention line for anyone under 35, call 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039967, email pat@papyrus-uk.org.
• Call 0800 587 0800 to talk to National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK (Available 6pm to midnight, free and confidential support)

York St John University Security

If you are on our York campus or living in university owned accommodation in York, we have a 24/7 Security team that you can contact. To contact on campus security, you can call 01904 876 444 or call or text 07779 967 756.

Your accommodation

If you are living in accommodation not owned by York St John, you may have been given details about how to contact a duty member of staff out-of-hours.

NHS 111 (England and Wales)

Get advice from 111 or ask for an urgent GP appointment if:

• You are not able to speak to your local NHS urgent mental health helpline.
• You need help urgently for your mental health, but it's not an emergency.
• You're not sure what to do.

Call 111

Or NHS 24 (Scotland) - call 08454 242424

Make a safety plan

If you struggle with suicidal thoughts or are supporting someone else, it may help to make a safety plan to use if you need it:

• The Staying Safe website provides information on how to make a safety plan, including video tutorials and online templates to guide you through the process.
• The mental health charity Mind also provides information on planning for a mental health crisis.

Coping during a crisis

The mental health charity Mind has information on ways to help yourself cope during a crisis.

This includes calming exercises and a tool to get you through the next few hours.

Please do not forget the importance of talking to someone you trust. Let family or friends know what's going on for you. They may be able to offer support and help keep you safe. There's no right or wrong way to talk about suicidal feelings. Starting the conversation is what's important.