Facebook has decided to come up with a new service that will allow the users to report about anyone (from friends) who have shown suicidal tendency in the past. Once such people are identified, they will be provided help from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Frederic Wolens, a spokesperson from Facebook told Reuters that to report someone with suicidal tendency, all a user need to do is click on the report option and then choose suicidal content from the harmful behavior option.

In response to this Facebook will send this person (with suicidal tendency) an email encouraging them to give a call to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The mail will also include a link where the user can click and start with an online session (of chat) with one of the crisis workers. This chat feature has been added keeping in mind that there are some people who are not comfortable talking on the phone.

Though Lifeline and Facebook have been working in this direction since 2006 but this is for the first time that Facebook has come up with this idea of providing chat sessions to people with suicidal tendency. The new service is definitely very promising as Facebook users have reported in the past that they know many people with suicidal tendency who are not comfortable talking on the phone.

Lifeline has assured that they will make sure that workers are available round the clock to respond to the Facebook users who prefer a chat session more than a phone call. It is to be noted here that suicide is one of the major problems in the United States with around 100 suicide cases being reported every day.