Just in By The nUMBers 70 The number of colleges and universities in the United States that offer a new online service to reach out to students considering suicide. All 10 University of California undergraduate campuses and 60 other higher education institutions have just started using this online tool created by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention located in New York City. The tool is a survey that students will receive as a link in an email that is scheduled to be sent to everyone admitted to the school. Taken voluntarily, the survey acts as a conversation starter with counselors at the campus counseling center. The students can talk anonymously with a counselor until they feel they have the courage to come into the center for a face-to-face meeting. According to the Foundation, one motivator for creating this tool was the fact that 80 percent of students who committed suicide had not sought help from campus counseling centers. They also found that students who participate in the online dialogue are four times more likely to seek help in person than are those who just take the survey. In the near future, the Foundation hopes to offer the service on mobile devices, and it is working on similar programs for veterans, active-duty soldiers, corporations. and law enforcement agencies. Check out www.afsp.org for more information. 12 talking stickhttp://www.afsp.org