New York bridge gets anti-suicide phones

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Suicide prevention telephones have been activated on the approaches to one of America's largest bridges in hopes that people intent on jumping to their deaths can be dissuaded by one last human voice. More than 25 people have made fatal jumps from the Tappan Zee Bridge into the Hudson River in the past 10 years, the New York Thruway Authority said. The four phones provide direct links to the Lifeline suicide prevention hot line, which would connect callers to counselors at LifeNet or Covenant House, the authority said Tuesday. State troopers stationed in Tarrytown, an upscale suburb north of New York City, would be sent to the phones. Above each telephone is a sign that says, "When it seems like there is no hope, there is help."