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(AP) — Ahead of the High Holidays that begin this week, a network of Jewish security experts and religious leaders hosted several webinars to help prepare for the season. Among the topics: How to respond to an “active threat” targeting the Jewish community, and how to stop severe bleeding.

The holidays, encompassing Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, are meant to be a period of joy and reflection. Over recent years — in the face of increased antisemitic threats and violence — the season also is a time of heightened vigilance.

“The High Holidays are about renewal — about trying to build a better world,” said Rabbi Noah Farkas, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. “But we can’t do that without a security regimen that makes people comfortable to go to synagogue.”

Farkas his community was jolted in late July when federal and local law enforcement agencies arrested a man from the Los Angeles neighborhood of Reseda who allegedly was affiliated with a violent white supremacist group and had been advocating antisemitic violence.

According to the regional U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ryan Scott Bradford “posted online messages and photographs documenting his use of a 3-D printer to manufacture firearms, as well as calling for the mass murder of Jews.”

Officers searching his home found Nazi propaganda, 116 rounds of ammunition, and devices designed to help create automatic firearms.

“The potential danger to the community cannot be overstated.” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.

Farkas’ federation, and its counterparts around the U.S., have taken numerous steps to enhance safety, notably through professionally led community security initiatives that offer advice, training and other security resources to Jewish schools, synagogues and organizations.

Experts with the Los Angeles CSI provided suspicious-activity reports to law enforcement in 2022 and early 2023 that helped lay the groundwork for the recent arrest in Reseda.

Security measures have been expanding at Jewish institutions across the U.S. for more than a decade, but efforts intensified after a gunman killed 11 worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018. It was the deadliest act of antisemitic violence in U.S. history; the gunman, Robert Bowers, was sentenced to death in early August at the close of a lengthy, wrenching trial.

One of the biggest security initiatives since the massacre was launched in 2021 by the Jewish Federations of North America — a $130 million campaign seeking to ensure that every Jewish community in the U.S. and Canada has access to state-of-the-art communal security programs. As of last month, 103 Jewish federations in the two countries had programs based on standards set by the Secure Community Network; the requirements include community-wide trainings and intelligence-sharing with law enforcement.

The SCN was the organizer of the recent series of nine webinars – including those on severe bleeding and “active threats” — offered ahead of this year’s High Holidays.

Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, said he — like many Jews — wishes Rosh Hashana could be savored joyfully, without the need for security preparations and the worries about antisemitic threats.

“But we quickly move to the recognition that you can’t have those joyful things unless you feel safe and secure,” he said.

“People have come to accept it, but I don’t know if we’ve fully internalized what the long-term costs will be,” he added. “It’s not going to go away, like a hurricane or tornado. This is going to be a permanent, ongoing feature as long as we can see into the future.”

Nationwide, the security initiatives have been bolstered by constant expansion and broader collaboration.

Earlier this month, the Orthodox Union, the largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organization, announced a partnership with the Community Security Service, a leading Jewish security organization, to encourage more Orthodox congregation members to volunteer for security training.

Last month, the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles and the Anti-Defamation League of Los Angeles announced a new joint effort to prevent and combat antisemitic incidents in Southern California.

“When you combine resources, you can connect the dots between what might appear to be unrelated incidents of antisemitism and paint a clearer picture of the challenges we face,” said Jeffrey Abrams, regional director of ADL Los Angeles.

The new head of the Greater Los Angeles federation’s Community Security Initiative is Larry Mead, a 36-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department who specialized in intelligence gathering targeting gangs and organized crime. Since his hiring in early August, Mead says it’s “been an eye-opener” to learn the extent and vehemence of antisemitic threats.

Mead said synagogues in California were among several dozen nationwide recently targeted by fake bomb threats and antisemitic swatting incidents that disrupted services and rattled worshippers.

“The people doing this — they want to frustrate the Jewish community,” Mead said. “We can’t let them win.”

Farkas said the intelligence reports he gets from Mead “make me sad.”

“Here we are going into High Holidays,” Farkas said. “Why has it got to be that Jewish people, in order to celebrate the most sacred days of the year, have to check in with the police?”

“I worry that something bad is going to happen, because it feels almost inevitable,” he added. “That’s a tough place to be emotionally.”

Even as the threats and attacks persist, there have been documented instances demonstrating the value of new security measures.

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, one of the rabbis conducting services when Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue was attacked, had never carried a cellphone on Shabbat prior to receiving active-shooter training. He had his phone with him during the attack, and was able to call 911.

Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker, one of three people held hostage for 10 hours at his Colleyville, Texas synagogue in 2022, credited their escape to security training he had received over the years.

“Without the instruction we received, we would not have been prepared to act and flee when the situation presented itself,” the rabbi said.

In November, when the FBI said it had received credible information about a “broad” threat to synagogues in New Jersey, Jewish leaders in part of the state were able to get real-time updates via text message thanks to a new emergency broadcast system established by the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey.

One of the duties for that federation’s director of community security, Tim Torell, is providing PowerPoint presentations on the active-shooter response strategy known as “Run, Hide, Fight.”

“The Jewish community does not want to do this — it wants to go worship and not have to worry about an active shooter,” Torell said. “But there is a need to do it.”

He recounted a recent training session where most of the participants were in their 70s, including a woman who came up to him at the end, tears in her eyes.

“She said, ’We’re grateful, but I can’t believe the world is coming to this. I can’t believe we have to do this in my synagogue,’” Torell recalled.

“She got to me,” he added. “I’m standing there, trying not to lose it.”

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. Share Tweet

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Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury to retain heavyweight titles

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Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury to retain heavyweight titles

Tyson Fury has responded after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in their heavyweight world title rematch in Saudi Arabia.

British fighter Fury, 36, had hoped to take revenge after his previous defeat to Usyk in May.

The Ukrainian, 37, who had entered the bout as a narrow favourite, retained his WBO, WBC and WBA heavyweight titles with his win at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena.

But, the fight went to the scorecards with all three judges scoring the fight 116-112 in Usyk’s favour.

“I swear to God, I thought I won it by at least three rounds,” Fury said shortly after the fight.

“I felt a little Christmas spirit in there and I think he got a little Christmas gift from them judges. An early Christmas gift.

“I was confident I had won that fight again. I thought I’d won both fights but then again I’ve gone home with two losses on my record. I will always believe until the day I die that I won that fight.

“I’m not going to cry over spilt milk. It’s happened now.”

Fury left the ring without doing an interview, leaving his promoter Frank Warren to speak on his behalf.

“How can Tyson only get four rounds in this fight? It’s impossible,” Warren told TV network DAZN, adding he thought Fury had won.

“Only four rounds. Each of them gave him four rounds, four different rounds. I’m not saying this because I’m biased, but everyone along the front there all thought it went the same way.

“It’s nuts. It’s nuts, I don’t get it. I’m really disappointed with that. I thought he was in control of the fight and boxed extremely well. Usyk was on the back foot for most of the fight, but it is what it is.”

Tyson Fury reacts during a press conference after losing his latest boxing match. Pic: Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
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Fury reacts during a press conference after losing his latest boxing match. Pic: Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

Usyk became the only man to inflict a professional defeat on Fury when he beat him on points in May, becoming the first boxer to hold all four major heavyweight belts at the same time and the first undisputed champion in 24 years.

But his reign over the four belts ended just a month later when he gave up his IBF belt to fight Fury in a rematch because he was unable to make a mandatory defence against the organisation’s interim belt-holder, Daniel Dubois.

“I win,” Usyk said simply after the fight, “it’s good”.

Oleksandr Usyk celebrates winning his bout. Pic: Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
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Usyk celebrates winning his bout. Pic: Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge

He also paid tribute to Fury.

“He’s a great fighter, a great opponent and it was a great 24 rounds. Unbelievable 24 rounds in my career. Thank you so much,” Usyk said.

Daniel Dubois, the IBF heavyweight title holder, was quick to call for a fight with Usyk following the result.

“I want my revenge,” he told Usyk directly. “Let’s go.”

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury stare at each other for 11 minutes
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Usyk and Fury stared at each other for 11 minutes ahead of the fight

Dubois, 27, defended the IBF belt with a fifth-round knockout of fellow British rival 34-year-old Anthony Joshua in October.

He faces Joseph Parker on 22 February and the Usyk win could set up a future fight to unify all of the titles.

Ahead of the bout, Usyk and Fury engaged in a stare-down for more than 11 minutes in a head-to-head press conference on Thursday.

Fury weighed in at a career-high 20 stones 1lbs, while Usyk weighed 16 stones 2lb, the heaviest he has recorded, although both men were fully clothed when they stepped on the scales.

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Princess of Wales asked Lady Gabriella Windsor to help with Christmas carol service

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Princess of Wales asked Lady Gabriella Windsor to help with Christmas carol service

It’s been revealed that the Princess of Wales asked Lady Gabriella Windsor, whose husband died earlier this year, for her help to plan her annual carol service.

During the summer, Kate invited Lady Gabriella, the daughter of Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, to join her team organising her annual Together at Christmas event at Westminster Abbey.

The heart-warming gesture was very much in tune with the overall theme of the service, recognising those who have shown love, kindness and empathy to others in their communities.

Speaking of Lady Gabriella’s reaction, a friend said she felt “honoured” and “very touched and grateful to the princess to be asked to contribute to her very special concert”.

The Princess of Wales arrives for the Together At Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey in London. Picture date: Friday December 6, 2024.
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The Princess of Wales arriving for the carol service earlier this month. Pic: PA

Kate is understood to have been incredibly grateful for her contribution.

Lady Gabriella’s husband, financier Thomas Kingston, died on 25 February from a head injury and a gun was found near his body at his parents’ home in the Cotswolds.

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Kate Middleton hosts Christmas carol service

In October a coroner concluded he took his own life and during the inquest his widow warned about the effects of drugs used to treat mental health problems after the hearing was told Mr Kingston was prescribed drugs following complaints of trouble sleeping following stress at work.

Lady Gabriella, also known as Ella to her friends, supported Kate and played an advisory role with the organising team around the music performances that featured during the service.

The carol service took place on 6 December, with Kate joined by Prince William and their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, who all held candles during the service, as did the other guests in the congregation.

The service, shown on television on Christmas Eve, will start with a recorded voiceover from the Princess, featuring extracts from a letter given out alongside this year’s order of service.

She will say: “The Christmas story encourages us to consider the experiences and feelings of others.

“It also reflects our own vulnerabilities and reminds us of the importance of giving and receiving empathy, as well as just how much we need each other in spite of our differences.

“Above all else, it encourages us to turn to love, not fear. The love that we show ourselves and the love we show others.

“Love that listens with empathy, love that is kind and understanding, love that is forgiving, and love that brings joy and hope.”

Read more:
William and Kate to launch mental health programme

Prince William praises ‘amazing’ Kate

Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy, who is terminally ill with prostate cancer, lit a candle, as did Lindsey Burrow, the wife of former rugby league star Rob Burrow who died in June following a much-publicised battle with motor neurone disease.

Readings were given by Prince William and actors Richard E Grant, Michelle Dockery, Sophie Okonedo, and Olympic swimming gold medallist Adam Peaty.

The service will be broadcast as part of the programme Royal Carols: Together At Christmas, screened on ITV1 and ITVX on Christmas Eve, and will also feature three films about people and organisations who have inspired, counselled and comforted others in their times of need.

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‘I walk into a room and people start coughing’: Rare condition makes people allergic to sufferers

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'I walk into a room and people start coughing': Rare condition makes people allergic to sufferers

On rare occasions that Medinah leaves her home, people around her will cough, sneeze and rub their eyes.

“I am the allergen,” the 23-year-old, who did not want her full name used, tells Sky News.

She is one of a group of people with a condition so rare it does not have an official medical name.

It is known simply as People Allergic To Me – often shortened to PATM.

Medinah spent a year online searching her symptoms before she found social media support groups and the name that had been coined there.

During those months, she worried she was “crazy”: “I thought, yes, I’m losing it now. But then after a year and the constant reactions with people, I just realised this cannot be in my head, I can’t be crazy, I’m seeing this in real time.”

Hay fever-type symptoms

Several of the people in those groups spoke to Sky News. They described people developing hay fever-type symptoms in their presence, saying as much as 90% of a room would start coughing, choking, or sneezing when they entered.

They detailed the immense toll of isolating themselves to avoid these reactions. Some said they had been suicidal; others talked of losing friends, giving up jobs, and spending hundreds of pounds on possible remedies.

Last year, PATM sufferers had a glimmer of hope. A researcher in Japan published the first cohort study on the condition – and it indicated there could be a physical cause.

Medinah for PATM feature
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Medinah has suffered from People Allergic To Me since 2020

Speaking to Sky News from Tokyo, Professor Yoshika Sekine from Tokai University describes what he found when he compared the skin gases emitted by 20 people with PATM to a control group of 24.

He discovered the PATM group had “very specific characteristic skin gas patterns”, giving off higher levels of certain chemicals that are known to provoke respiratory symptoms in people exposed to them.

One of them, toluene, is used in the manufacture of explosives, paints and plastics and as a solvent in some types of paint thinner and glue. It can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract, according to Public Health England – and people with PATM emitted 39 times more of it than the control group.

The other chemicals Prof Sekine identified as being particularly important are sulphur compounds, which have a “very strong, pungent odour” and hexanol, which has a hay-like smell.

These chemicals are known to trigger respiratory symptoms and skin irritation and are both linked to sick building syndrome, a condition recognised by the World Health Organisation where people are made ill by the building in which they live or work.

The study concluded: “We must carefully consider the possibility that the chemicals emitted by the PATM group may induce chemical intolerance in those around them.”

‘You feel you don’t have the right to live’

It’s been about 18 months since Fahima started noticing reactions from people around her.

“Wherever I go, if I go into a shop, if I’m out, if I walk past someone, people will sneeze and hysterically cough,” she tells Sky News.

In that time, she’s shifted to working entirely from home. She has stopped attending her nine-year-old son’s school plays because “I don’t want to impact the children”.

She shops in the early, quiet hours. The school run is the only time she regularly leaves the house.

“From the minute I wake up, the first thought is, how are people going to react to me today? I have to minimise myself so that I don’t impact other people.”

She says she also gives off an odour that developed from sweat to fish and then faeces.

There is a medically recognised condition called trimethylaminuria (TMAU) – sometimes called “fish odour syndrome” for the smell sufferers emit – that is sometimes grouped together with PATM.

However, there are PATM sufferers who say their symptoms are not accompanied by any discernible smell.

Dr Robin Lachmann, one of the country’s leading doctors specialising in TMAU, tells Sky News that unlike PATM, TMAU is a condition “which we understand well and can treat”.

A key difference is that while people around the patient may find the odour unpleasant, “these responses aren’t allergic”.

Fahima took a test for TMAU which came back negative – but even getting the test took a year of “legwork” on her part, she says.

“With PATM, doctors say even if you want to get tested, there’s no diagnosis. There’s no way to treat it.”

The reactions Fahima gets aren’t just involuntary coughs and sneezes, she says, but insults and abuse.

“You know what? I don’t blame people. Especially the people that are having allergic reactions to us, we’re physically making them sick, so I don’t expect them to have any other reaction.”

But it’s “draining”, she says, and makes her “incredibly depressed”.

“It makes you feel like you don’t have the right to live, almost. Because why should you be in a place making someone else feel uncomfortable?”

Anonymous woman at the window. Pic: iStock
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Sufferers describe isolating themselves to avoid reactions from other people. Pic: iStock

Fahima says the allergic reactions vary depending on her diet. If she eats a lot of sugar, meat or carbohydrates, the following day she will notice a lot of people sneezing.

Her son mostly doesn’t react to her, she says, but when she eats meat his reactions are so severe she will give him an antihistamine.

Prof Sekine says while skin gases are typically influenced by diet, he hasn’t yet been able to find a link for PATM. But he has spoken to people who have improved their symptoms by cutting out dairy, increasing their intake of antioxidants and working on boosting good gut bacteria.

He also suggests why not everyone reacts to people with PATM. He says it could be to do with sensitivity to chemicals, with some people affected by very low doses in the air around them.

Just as not everyone suffers from hay fever when there’s a high pollen count, not everyone will be sensitive to the higher chemicals in the skin gases of PATM patients.

‘It’s all in your head’

The PATM sufferers who spoke to Sky News invariably said they had been told the condition was “all in their head”.

There is a recognised psychological condition that bears similarities to PATM called Olfactory Reference Disorder, or ORD.

People with ORD are preoccupied with the belief they are giving off a bad smell despite there being no odour, explains Professor David Veale, a consultant psychiatrist at the Nightingale Hospital.

It can have a “devastating” impact on peoples’ lives as they dedicate their energy to tackling the perceived problem and avoid social situations out of fear of being “shamed, humiliated, rejected”, he says.

“They are very stressed and very disabled by it. But no one can convince them that they can’t smell them. They think they’re just saying that to be nice.”

Prof Veale says the difference between PATM and ORD appears to be that ORD patients are preoccupied with their perceptions of what other people think about an imagined smell, while PATM sufferers perceive physical reactions in other people.

Prof Sekine also identifies this difference in his research, concluding PATM is unique “in that it affects the people around them, at least based on descriptions by people with PATM”.

Woman sneezing in an office. Pic: iStock
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File pic: iStock

Sandra, who did not want to use her real name, says she seriously considered whether her condition could “be in my head” after her doctor suggested she had ORD.

“I’d had too many incidents happen for that to be true,” she says.

“I was even bullied at work about it in one job.”

Almost 60, Sandra has lived with the condition for 15 years. She says she used to have a good career, but no longer works “partly due to the stress and anxiety that this causes”.

Her first sign of PATM came when she returned to work after a bout of sickness and her boss had a “sneezing fit” every time he came into her office.

A deep clean didn’t sort what she thought was a dust issue – and then she noticed other colleagues reacting in the same way, then friends and even her husband.

“Eventually it occurred to me that it must be me causing this, which filled me with horror,” she says.

“When the reactions are at their worst, I have a similar reaction myself, that is I become allergic to myself.

“I have other symptoms like a bad taste in my mouth, itchy throat, itchy skin with a mild rash on my abdomen and spiking mild temperature.”

But making others react is the worst part: “It makes me feel dreadfully guilty to be causing all of this and I have severe anxiety and depression as a result.”

Alex’s 24-year-old brother Miguel first noticed PATM symptoms about 10 years ago, but didn’t tell his family until he was 19.

Many people with PATM say close relatives do not get symptoms, and Alex does not notice himself reacting to his brother.

He says it’s also hard to say whether more people cough and sneeze around his brother because it’s such a commonplace thing – but Miguel will notice every cough or nose scratch, and someone having a coughing fit can be enough to make him stay in his room for days.

Alex recalls being at a restaurant with their grandparents when Miguel first told them about the condition, and his grandmother agreed she could hear people “just constantly coughing in the restaurant”.

“That seemed like an increase to what’s normal. But then how do you know what normal is if you’re not paying attention to it?”

PATM is easy to write off as “just” psychological because “it sounds ridiculous”, Alex says, but his first concern when his brother opened up about the condition was to find a way to cope with the impact on his mental health.

“That’s the important thing – and then it doesn’t matter whether it’s real or not.”

What causes PATM?

The cause of PATM is a puzzle to sufferers and researchers alike. Some people say their symptoms started during a time when they were eating a lot of fast food or experiencing high stress.

Sufferers trade theories about possible triggers: a disrupted gut microbiome, fungal infections, sinus problems.

“You’re like your own doctor, your own medical team,” Medinah says. “I literally stay up all night researching.”

Sandra and another person who spoke to Sky News found their PATM flared after a course of antibiotics, while others described developing skin issues before other symptoms.

MEBO Research, a small collective of researchers investigating rare genetic metabolic diseases, has conducted exploratory studies of PATM without being able to pinpoint a cause beyond an apparent issue with the body’s “detoxification process”.

Mehmet Ali, MEBO’s director of community outreach and strategy, tells Sky News PATM needs attention and research from the medical community.

Prof Sekine’s research also did not identify a cause – although it is his goal to find it. “I would like to define the criteria for what PATM is, and what it is not. This is a very difficult point,” he says.

Without even a criteria of what PATM is, there is no formal diagnosis. NHS England told Sky News it follows NICE guidelines, and there are none for PATM.

A spokesperson for NICE said it “can only look at treatments that are licensed by the UK regulators… If they have not been licensed for PATM, we cannot recommend them for the condition”.

But finding a treatment seems a distant dream to sufferers who share remedies on Facebook and Reddit: supplements of every variety, antibiotics, digestive enzymes, probiotics, herbal treatments.

Sufferers go to extreme lengths in search of solutions. Fasts; eliminating sugar, gluten and dairy; raw veganism and its opposite, the “carnivore diet” – essentially just eating meat, eggs and dairy.

But what might grant one person temporary relief doesn’t necessarily work for someone else.

Sandra sees no end to her 15 years of misery: “We are all just waiting for a cure with our lives in effect on hold but I’m nearly 60 now and not confident it will happen in my lifetime.”

‘It crushes you like nothing has crushed you before’

Amir, who did not want to use his real name, says without family relying on him “I wouldn’t be here, that’s how bad I feel sometimes”.

He describes a life that has become “really, really unbearable”. He says he has lost all his friends “because they can’t be in the same areas as me” and even avoids the mosque.

“I do an experiment – I stay out of the room to see if anyone is coughing, then go in the room for a few minutes. The majority of people will start reacting.”

Not everyone with PATM who spoke to Sky News isolates themselves. Some hold down jobs and socialise – but none seem immune to the mental health impacts of the condition.

They describe the loneliness of not just being physically isolated, but of being misunderstood by doctors, friends and family; the guilt of feeling you’re making another person ill; the despair of there being no treatment or cure.

Medinah describes her mental health as “shattered, it’s non-existent”.

“In the beginning it crushes you, it crushes you in a way that nothing has ever crushed you before.”

She says she quit her job as a teaching assistant because she was getting “aggressive” reactions, and now life is at a “complete stop”.

She gets emotional talking about the future: “I don’t feel excited at all. I don’t even like to think about it. The reality is so sad. I can’t even go to the local park, I can’t do anything.”

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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