The primary aim of Befrienders International is to be available to offer emotional support to those passing through personal crisis & in imminent danger of taking their own lives. This article discusses 3 factors that characterize the suicidal (ambivalence, sense of isolation, & feelings of compulsion), suggests ways for crisis line volunteers to interact with distressed callers to enable these people to talk about their feelings, & underlines the courage it takes to raise the issue of suicide.