The Brazilian Red Cross — Rio de Janeiro Branch is joining Yellow September (Setembro Amarelo), the campaign dedicated to suicide prevention and to the value of life. Throughout the month, the branch reinforces, among volunteers, students, staff and the communities it serves, a central message of the humanitarian movement: psychological distress is a health matter, it calls for support, and there are paths to care.
What Yellow September is
Yellow September is a nationwide campaign that takes up the month of September to address in public a subject historically surrounded by silence. The idea is not only to light up buildings and wear the colour yellow, but to create conditions for people to talk about what they feel and know who to turn to. Talking about suicide responsibly, with information and without sensationalism, is recognised as a preventive measure — the opposite of what common sense tends to assume.
Why the subject belongs to the humanitarian mission
The Red Cross was born of a commitment to relieve human suffering wherever it may be found, without distinction. That principle is not limited to visible wounds. In emergencies, disasters, displacement and situations of social vulnerability, the impact on mental health is part of the picture, and psychosocial support has been part of the work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement for decades.
In Rio de Janeiro, this translates into something concrete: the volunteer responding to an incident, the instructor in front of a class, the team at a community activity are often the first contact of someone who is not well. Knowing how to listen without judging, not playing down what the person says and knowing where to refer people are humanitarian skills just as much as a first-aid technique.
What each of us can do
Prevention does not depend on clinical training. It starts with gestures within anyone's reach:
- Ask the person directly how they are, and keep the conversation going without rushing.
- Listen without offering ready-made solutions, quick advice or comparisons.
- Take any mention of death or hopelessness seriously, without treating it as an exaggeration.
- Help them reach a health service and, where possible, go with them for that first step.
- Stay in touch afterwards, because care is sustained over time.
Where to find help in Brazil
Anyone who needs to talk can contact the CVV — Centro de Valorização da Vida, which offers emotional support and suicide prevention by phone on 188, free of charge and in confidence, and through its other channels, in Portuguese. The public health network is the other way in: primary health units and the Psychosocial Care Centres (CAPS) provide support and refer people for continued treatment. In a situation of immediate risk, call the emergency services — SAMU on 192.
If you are outside Brazil, contact the health or emergency services where you are.
This page is for information only and does not replace a professional assessment.
How to follow and take part
Yellow September is a starting point, not an isolated date on the calendar. The branch keeps up its training and community mobilisation throughout the year, and there are open paths for anyone who wants to get involved.
See the in-person courses, follow the branch's activities and volunteer calls in the news section and find out how to donate to sustain humanitarian work in Rio de Janeiro. Each of these helps sustain the work that lets the branch reach people — including those whose suffering is not visible at first sight.
First published in Portuguese on 1 September 2026. Read the original →