Originally reported in October 2019 and April 2021 by The Straits Times and AsiaOne. Note: this is an evergreen background story, not a September–October 2026 news report, as noted in the draft.
Honesty note: This story is real. The PleaseStay mothers are real people, told here as the draft presents them. The featured image used is a generic library image, not a photograph of the mothers.
Four mothers, who had each lost a child to suicide, made a promise to each other: that no other parent should have to go through what they went through alone. They called it PleaseStay — a name that is both a plea and a promise. Please stay. Please ask for help. Please let us walk with you.
They did not set out to be activists. They set out to survive grief, and in surviving, they found a purpose: to break the silence around youth suicide, to push for better support in schools and communities, and to remind young people that their lives matter, even when they cannot see it themselves.
What they built was not just an organisation, but a community — parents, young people, volunteers, professionals, all saying the same thing in different ways: you are not alone, help is available, and it is okay to ask for it. Their work is a reminder that behind every statistic is a family, and behind every family is a love that refuses to give up.
PleaseStay. Two words. A promise that has kept many people alive.
What Singapore is actually seeing
PleaseStay is a Singapore non-profit founded by bereaved parents, working on youth suicide prevention through awareness, education and community support. Reporting in The Straits Times (October 2019) and AsiaOne (April 2021) documented the founders’ stories and the organisation’s efforts to encourage young people to seek help and to support families affected by suicide loss. The organisation continues to be cited in Singapore’s mental-health landscape as an example of lived-experience advocacy.
Sources: The Straits Times, October 2019 — https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/parents-who-lost-children-to-suicide-start-pleasestay-to-help-youths AsiaOne, April 2021 — https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/pleasestay-mothers-suicide-prevention
Getting help
If you or someone you know is struggling, you do not have to face it alone. National Mindline — 1771 (24 hours), WhatsApp 6669-1771, mindline.sg. Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) — 1767 (24 hours), CareText via WhatsApp 9151-1767. If someone is in immediate danger, call 995 or go to the nearest emergency department.
