Samaritans is often the first place the media turns for perspective on issues, topics and events tied to suicide and Samaritans executive director, Alan Ross, is considered one of the nation’s foremost experts on the topic, especially tied to education, helping people and the work of hotlines.

The work of Samaritans has been featured in New York Magazine, Time Magazine, The New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Daily News and Newsday and, on MTV, Prime Time Live, Good Morning America (their major series on depression) and PBS as well as Nightline, ABC World News, CNN, Fox News, CBS, NY1 and other major television and radio news programs.

Samaritans suicide prevention education program for health providers and caregivers has been the focus of clinical research articles in several journals including the British Journal of Social Work and Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention.

For media inquiries, contact Samaritans at (212) 673-3661.

A Sampling of Articles

The articles listed below provide a small sample of stories, interviews and features focusing on Samaritans’ work and our perspective on issues tied to suicide prevention and responding to people and communities in crisis.

Daily Mail, Behind the suicide hotline: Operators reveal intense training, heartbreaking calls and how sometimes even they need counseling, December 2018 Read here.

The Oprah Magazine, The Best Way to Talk About Suicide, December 2018 Read here.

New York Daily News, EXCLUSIVE: Suicides on the rise as volunteers for Samaritan hotline drop, January 2017 Read here.

New York Business Journal, Holiday blues? Minding your staff’s mental health is good business, December 2015 Read here.

Medical Daily, World Suicide Prevention Day 2015: Crisis Hotline Director Alan Ross Explains How To Help Someone With Suicidal Thoughts, September 2015 Read here.

Refinery29, What It’s Really Like To Be A Suicide Prevention Hotline Operator, September 2015 Read here.

New York Daily News, NYC suicide line’s funding to get slashed in de Blasio’s 2016 executive budget, May 2015 Read here.

amNewYork, Isolation, hopelessness and suicide in the city, March 2015 Read here.

HuffPost, Our Policy in Preventing Suicide Should Be “If In Doubt, Check It Out”, October 2014 Read here.

Daily Mail & US Magazine, Outrage as Marilyn Manson Simulates Self-Harm Onstage…, June 2013 (warning: images may be upsetting to readers) Read here.

News 12 Bronx, The Samaritans of New York Present Suicide Prevention Workshop for NYC Guidance Counselors, June 2013 (TV Interview with Short Article) Read here.

AOL Parent Dish, Suicide-Proof Your Teen (as Much as You Can), March 2011 Read here.

British Journal of Social Work, Oxford University Press, Training Outcomes from the Samaritans of New York Suicide Awareness and Prevention Programme among Community- and School-Based Staff, October 2010 Read here.

The New York Times, City Budget May Cut Short Cries for Help, June 2010 Read here.

Up Close with Diana Williams, WABC-TV Channel 7 and 7online, June 2010

Associated Press, Suicides from Financial Crisis Cause Concern, October 2009

New Statesman, Hard Times, August 2009 Read here.

The New York Times, Looking in on the City’s Samaritans at a ‘Dark Time’ in the Land, February 2009 Read here.

Conde Nast Portfolio, Desperation Economy, February 2009 Read here.

Time Magazine, Suicides: Watching for a Recession Spike, February 2009 Read here.

Daily News, Some ‘Tourists’ Choose City Landmarks for Suicide, November 1, 2007 Read here.

From the Archives

The Oprah Magazine, Listening: We Asked Seven Experts How to Hear With the Heart, May 2001 Read here.

New York Times, Patient Ears For Voices Of Despair, December 27, 2000 Read here.

Newsday, New York Forum, About Suicide: Not Only Cops Kill Themselves, September 15, 1994

New York Magazine, Lives On The Line: How the City’s Suicide Hotlines Pull People Back From the Brink, April 22, 1991 Read here.