Suicide takes thousands of lives per year in the UK. Years of love, memories, relationships and possibilities are lost each time a person dies by suicide. We are losing our family members, our friends, our neighbours and work colleagues. It affects every community so we need to support our communities to have to prevent suicide – provide them with tools and knowledge that can be cascaded far and wide.

It is through this approach that the Community Connectors Suicide Prevention programme has been developed for Birmingham communities. Conceptualised by Common Unity and Forward For Life, this approach will empower communities to provide learning to their networks on the challenge of suicide and how to support people to stay alive. For more information and to receive updates email info@common-unity.org

Our Website links:

https://urbrum.org

https://common-unity.org

https://forwardforlife.org

https://the-waitingroom.org

Suicide doesn’t discriminate

Death by suicide is devastating and far reaching across our communities. It takes 3 times more lives per year in the UK than lives lost in accidents on all our roads. The most recent data tells us that over 6000 people died in the UK by suicide in one year. That means that every day, 16 people take their own lives in the UK.

But we can have an impact on this devastating act through learning skills to support a person with suicidal thoughts to consider life as an achievable plan. This course has been being designed and developed by experienced facilitators and practitioners in the fields of suicide prevention, mental health, and well-being.

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SCHEMA – An Approach to Suicide Prevention

SCHEMA is a suicide prevention course that supports professionals and community members in effectively helping people with suicidal thoughts. The SCHEMA suicide prevention course is suitable for all walks of life and this is because suicidal behaviour occurs across all our communities and is everybody’s responsibility. Whatever your background, by attending SCHEMA you will feel better prepared to support someone who has suicidal thoughts.

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More information on SCHEMA can be found here

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WISE STEPS – Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training

WISE STEPS is an online ‘gatekeeper’ training workshop built on years of experience and best evidenced based approaches in the field of suicide prevention.

Designed, developed and delivered by Forward For Life and Common Unity, WISE STEPS provides a strong foundation for those seeking the tools needed to support people who may be struggling with thoughts of suicide.

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Feedback	Date	Recommend
I thought the training and the trainers were very knowledgeable and I feel more confident now with the guidance I have received so thank you, Terry & Caron	28/05/21	YES
Really really enjoyed it wish it was longer and in person.	28/05/21	YES
Both facilitators were excellent in their delivery, the team felt at ease with the content discussed. Good breakdown of steps, and suggested words to enable myself to ask the direct question. Team members felt supported throughout the training. Thank you.	28/05/21	YES
I would really like to stay involved with further training id like to take the opportunity to thank you for the training and you’re supporting. The work you are doing and have done in the community and the Waiting rooms want to say how useful this is.	28/05/21	YES
Caron & Terry are excellent trainers & facilitators	28/05/21	YES

More information about Wise Steps can be found here

SCHEMA is a suicide prevention course that supports professionals and community members in effectively helping people with suicidal thoughts.

Suicide doesn’t discriminate

Death by suicide is devastating and far reaching across our communities. It takes 3 times more lives per year in the UK than lives lost in accidents on all our roads. The most recent data tells us that over 6000 people died in the UK by suicide in one year. That means that every day, 16 people take their own lives in the UK.

But we can have an impact on this devastating act through learning skills to support a person with suicidal thoughts to consider life as an achievable plan. This course has been being designed and developed by experienced facilitators and practitioners in the fields of suicide prevention, mental health and well-being.

Who is SCHEMA for?

The SCHEMA suicide prevention course is suitable for all walks of life and this is because suicidal behaviour occurs across all our communities and is everybody’s responsibility. Whatever your background, by attending SCHEMA you will feel better prepared to support someone who has suicidal thoughts.

What would I learn?

• Spot the signals of possible suicide ideation
• Ask the right questions
• Explore with empathy
• Assess level of risk and develop a life-plan
• Enable short-term support
• Consider appropriate signposting

Learn the skills that can save lives and promote hope for the future

If you wish to discuss SCHEMA with one of our facilitators to help you decide, if this training is right for you/your organisation, then all you have to do is get in touch with us on 07585776800 or email: info@forwardforlife.org

SCHEMA : An approach to suicide prevention delegates 2018
Our SCHEMA briefing paper Since 2018 we have delivered SCHEMA to over 400 delegates across the UK including delivering SCHEMA training on behalf of Birmingham and Solihull NHS CCG and the Coventry and Warwickshire NHS. For an overview of this training check out our most recent briefing paper.

What our delegates say about SCHEMA

“This was a really useful course, both for professionals and people who know someone with a mental health issue. Infact, it’s useful for anyone who knows anyone who might need support”

“Will definitely recommend to others, friends and professionals. It helped me to think about suicide in a structured way to help with immediate and long-term support.”

“It was a great day and I feel much more confident now when talking to people both as a professional and a friend.”

“Great days training. Reinforced my own practice and learnt new ways of working. Trainers very knowledgeable.”

Fantastic course; Very knowledgeable facilitators who used simple and precise methods to make course content very clear. Thank-you.”

LITA (Life is the AIM) Suicide prevention gatekeeper training was developed by Forward For Life and Common Unity with the recognition that in today’s uncertain times there is an ever pressing need to provide people from all walks of life with gatekeeper skills training in suicide prevention through an online platform.

What you will learn:

LITA is a 2 hour online gatekeeper training short course that supports recipients to:

• Understand the impact of suicide
• Have knowledge of how to identify those at risk
• Understand the value of listening
• Direct those at risk to appropriate support opportunities.

Who is it for:

LITA is being offered out to organisations and communities across the UK to provide people with a knowledge base of how to start to support people who may be thinking of suicide with the aim of maintaining life as an outcome. LITA is also useful for those organisations who already have employees who have attended our SCHEMA or ASIST courses by providing organisations with the opportunity for enhanced internal support.

For further information about LITA or any of our face to face training options Please contact :

Terry Rigby 07585776800 or email : info@forwardforlife.org

You can download a copy of the flyer in PDF format by clicking here

I know will-power plays a big part but the support we provided via The Waiting Room Resource Key has been priceless for him. Aston Fire Station recently shared TWR keys amongst their team leaders for further distribution across their patches.

One Team Leader told us

 “I issued 27 keys in total to managers of the HMO’s owned by Midland Living – their feedback was excellent. The HMO’s are occupied by people who have serious support needs for various substance misuses and use of violence.   The managers have stated that the keys have been invaluable for signposting and they will continue to use them.

I have visited the HMO’s myself and chatted with some tenants about the Resource Keys – they tell me that a lot of the time it’s knowing where to get help, which the key has been invaluable for. I have seen the effects of the key first-hand with a tenant who is now two months clean after using the key to access a range of support.  

He is now doing voluntary work at the HMO to keep his mind occupied and maintain his well-being. I know willpower plays a big part but the support we provided via The Waiting Room Resource Key has been priceless for him.   I truly believe that these keys have helped with the rehabilitation of some of our most vulnerable and will certainly continue using them.”

Click on the picture to watch our most recent TWR Video.

For more information about The Waiting Room in Birmingham, or if you are interested in bringing it to your location then please get in touch with us as Common-Unity.

The Phenomenon of Suicide

Suicide is one of the last big taboos’ in modern day society; a phenomenon that affects so many people in our communities in so many ways and yet has not been tackled within our communities.

In Britain, each year, more than 6000 people kill themselves; that’s 4000 more deaths per year than occur on all our roads. Over 75% of all suicides completed are by men.

It has been identified that there are key identifiable factors that increase the likelihood of suicidal ideation and behaviour. Such factors that are associated with suicide include social factors, cultural factors, economic crisis, work stresses, mental health difficulties, family issues, substance misuse, sexual orientation, individual crisis, bullying and more recently, the recognition of the conflict between more traditional gender identities and modern society.

Where a multiple of these factors is applicable to an individual, there is a heightened level of risk in respect of that individual and their propensity for considering suicide as a realistic option.

“there are direct links between mental ill health and social factors such as unemployment and debt. Both are risk factors for suicide. Previous periods of high unemployment and/or severe economic problems have been accompanied by increased incidence of mental ill health and higher suicide rates.”

Identity and Suicide

According to the Samaritans many men compare themselves against a masculine ‘gold standard’ which prizes power, control and invincibility. Having a job and providing for the family is central to this, especially for working class men and when this gold standard is no longer deemed to be being met such men may feel a sense of defeat and/or shame leading to contemplation of suicide. This ideal man being a socially constructed aspect of hegemonic masculinity, also means that emotional withdrawal and rigidity – a reduced likelihood of seeking help – may influence gender differences in suicidal behaviours.

 

Studies have shown that men are less likely than women to consult for most conditions, and for mental health and emotional problems specifically. The reasons for this could be argued to involve the way in which norms of masculinity are constructed to include a denial of pain, emotional sensitivity and anxiety. Asking for help, even in the face of possible suicide, may be viewed by many men as feminine behaviour, and if men are to live up to expectations of strength and independence, they are required to sort out their mental and physical problems on their own.

For many men, not coping is seen as an indicator of weakness and depression is a mental illness that for many is still viewed as inconsistent with a masculine identity. Studies have demonstrated that men’s response to depression often involves social withdrawal (including hiding symptoms from others), unwillingness to consult healthcare professionals, and a denial of symptoms.

 

Suicide and Criminal Justice

Prison suicides in England and Wales have risen to the highest level for seven years with 82 prisoners taking their own lives last year, according to new figures.

Historically, preventing suicides while offenders are in prison has been a much bigger priority than preventing them once prisoners get out. But a new studies looking into prisoner suicides once they’re released has found that the risk of suicide for male offenders is eight times the national average, with over 25 percent of those suicides occurring in the first four weeks of their release.

According to this study, those at most risk are so-called ‘revolvers’ or ‘churners’ – frequently in and out of prison. Their lives revolve between chaotic existences in the community and spells in custody. As such, often they are not under the supervision of probation services, neither do they have meaningful contact with primary care or specialist mental health services.

In respect of the original opportunity to develop a programme to support men who were at risk of suicide, Forward for Life and Common Unity viewed the original Manmade Programme (as it came to be known) as a way to do things a little differently from the traditional norm. The programme proposed was peer support based in approach whilst utilising the Five Ways to Well-Being framework in a format that was able to be engaged with fully by the ‘target audience’ of ‘vulnerable’ men.

The Five Ways to WellBeing was seen as key in ensuring the greatest impact upon the wellbeing of participants as mental health needs and vulnerabilities to suicidal ideation are best addressed via a holistic approach and not through solely concentrating efforts on risk reduction often associated with mental health problems.

We believe that individuals who have thoughts of suicide must have their needs addressed including providing individuals with the necessary internal resilience tools, self-care skills, personal sense of the self and knowledge of services that engender opportunities for satisfactory living.

ManMade therefore is very much an upstream approach – it doesn’t start with identification of illness and potential cure, it doesn’t look to come into play at the point of addressing the devastation caused by suicidal behaviour – what it does is recognise that through an emphasis on education, promotion, prevention and protection the number of vulnerable people coming to the point of contemplating suicide as the only rational option available is reduced.

Aspirations in respect of a self-determined quality of life is very much on the agenda with ManMade members. The approach supports men to identify and adopt new approaches that enables them to better deal with as well as more readily accept and understand both internal and external challenges. Focus is on the origins of good health and not the causes of disease. A Salutogenic Approach.

MANMADE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROPOSAL

 

360 brings solutions

 

Times are hard. Organisations are having to tighten their financial belts but are still expected to deliver best quality services to the greatest number of people. To make this happen, delivery agencies have to ensure that their staff and other contributors (such as service users and volunteers) have the skills, knowledge and confidence to look after themselves and the people they work with for the benefit of all.

 

Balancing the books as well as ensuring a highly trained, highly skilled motivated work-force is a huge challenge. 360people recognises this and has solutions.

 

“Training is everything,” Mark Twain once said. But with public leaders under intense pressure to steer a course through the deepest austerity cuts in postwar Britain, training and development is being hugely affected.

The 360people recognize that individuals need a well-balanced life to be able to have a good mental health. One in Four pulls together four well recognised, well respected and well evaluated training programmes into one arena over two days offering those who engage with mental health in a professional and volunteer capacity the opportunity to gain a good level of knowledge and skill in the briefest time period at an affordable cost.

We realise that although statutory training has to be the lynch pin of training across organisations to ensure that all the mandatory measures to assure quality of service are realised, at the same time there is a clear need to ensure that those working at the coal face of mental health and well-being need to access highly reputed, well tested, quality training opportunities in this field. But we also recognise this needs to be affordable, hence the One in Four Approach.

 

360 People Training Solutions In Mental Health and Well-being

360 people pulls together four well recognised, well respected and well evaluated training programmes into one arena. This two day course offers those who engage with mental health in a professional and volunteer capacity the opportunity to gain a good level of knowledge and skill in the briefest time period at an affordable cost.

 

Who are 360people

Innovative, forward thinking and tailored

As the driving force behind 360people, Common Unity have teamed up with a number of specialist West Midlands based innovative training providers who bring to the table a thorough and well-recognised active knowledge of the Health and Social Care Sector and the dynamics that exist within specifically in respect of mental health and well-being.

 

 

Through this partnership arrangement, Common Unity can ensure that as a central point of reference we can provide accessible, high quality training and development opportunities that are innovative, forward thinking and tailored to organisational need across the Health and Social Care Sector and wider still. In addition, this provision can be realised at a highly competitive price with the greatest degree of positive impact on those receiving the training.

 

Training is everything

 

 

With major health and social care changes taking place on a backdrop of sweeping financial austerity measures across the sector, many public sector departments and third sector organisations are struggling, and in the case of the latter, many are not managing to survive the economic consequences.

 

There appears to be no abatement in respect of pressures on the public sector to take wholesale austerity measures as well as requiring more from providers across the board. In this ever increasingly competitive market with purse strings having to be tightened something has to give – and one of the early sacrifices in such difficult times is always training and staff development.

 

“Training is everything,” Mark Twain once said. But with public leaders under intense pressure to steer a course through the deepest austerity cuts in postwar Britain, training and development is being hugely affected.

Local government are reporting a wholesale reduction in workforce development – core mandatory training as a minimum must continue, but wider professional development is taking a hit which will compromise the future provision of effective services across the health and social care sector especially in the fields of mental health and well-being which cannot rely solely on the clinical approach as mental health problems are inextricably associated with wider socio-economic determinants therefore requiring a more holistic person centred response to the challenge.

 

360people realises that core training has to be the lynchpin of development across organisations to ensure that all the mandatory measures to assure quality of service are realised. However, at the same time there is a clear need to ensure that those working at the front line of mental health and well-being need to access highly reputed, well tested, quality training opportunities in this field.

 

for more informationn please visit : 360people.org

NSPA Newsletter – June 2016 Update

If you have an event or publication you’d like us to share, or suggestions for things you’d like to see in the newsletter, please contact c.walker@nspa.org.uk

In this month’s newsletter.

1. Contact us
2. Latest from the NSPA
3. Welcome to
4. From our members
5. This month’s interesting picks
6. Policy, Briefings & Campaigns
–    IMPORTANT GOVERNMENT INQUIRY ON SUICIDE PREVENTION LAUNCHED
7. Funding
8. Research
9. Events

If you have an event or publication you’d like us to share, or suggestions for things you’d like to see in the newsletter, please contact c.walker@nspa.org.uk

Latest from the NSPA – Annual Members Meeting

On July 5th NSPA members and supporters came together for our annual get-together at NCVO in central London. The day covered a review of NSPA activity over the past 12 months, getting input into future work, members presenting on their own activities and opportunities to network.

Summary from the day:

It’s been a good year for the alliance as set out in the NSPA’s presentation to open the event. 2015/16 has seen a 42% increase in NSPA membership as well as nearly 50 new supporters joining. The new post of ‘Membership and Communications Officer’ was filled and a new look newsletter was launched. A second national suicide prevention conference was successfully held at the Oval, along with taking on new collaborative projects such as developing guidance for local authorities in suicide prevention planning with Public Health England (PHE). The NSPA released a new three-year strategy and strengthened their partnership working with Support After Suicide who formally became a special interest group within the NSPA.

Helen Garnham, Suicide Prevention Lead at PHE, spoke in more detail about work with the NSPA and a wide range of stakeholders in developing guidance for local authorities in effective suicide prevention. The resource will be ready for publication in the coming months and provides stepped guidance on setting up a multi-agency partnership, developing a local suicide prevention strategy and action plan plus understanding local trends and data. Over the next 12 months PHE will be looking to deliver a series of ‘masterclasses’ around the country to support the resource, as well as taking forward recommendations from the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health.

A number of NSPA members, including Network Rail, Samaritans, Farming Community Network and Harmless, have been working on ideas for a campaign aimed at men for World Suicide Prevention Day 2016. Some great ideas and feedback were gathered from the table-based discussion on the day, which will be fed into plans. More information to follow about how this campaign is shaping up and ways for members to get involved.

Mind talked about development of the resource ‘Responding to suicidal content online – best-practice guidelines’ which were launched earlier in the year. Mind collaborated with a number of NSPA members and drew on their experience of managing their online community ‘Elefriends’. The resource utilised an expert working group, the involvement of 28 different organisations, and included people with lived experience. Further work is now being done in ensuring that the resource is reaching its target audience.

The morning finished with a table based discussion on developing resources and information for our members, looking at the best parts of being an NSPA member, how we can improve, what members want to share and what they would like to see on the website.

In the afternoon some of our members presented their work to the group. The Cheshire & Merseyside Public Health Collaborative (CHAMPS) talked about their experiences of looking at local data and the value of local suicide audits, allowing for local authorities to make more targeted approaches to suicide prevention. East Sussex County Council presented on ‘The Place of Calm’, developed as a place of safety to address aftercare issues and reduce Section 136 cases. Here people can spend up to 24 hours with practical and emotional support.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) talked about water-related suicides and their work; suspected self-harm are the third largest category of incidents RNLI responds to. RNLI are at the early stages of developing an organisational stance on suicide prevention, developing partnerships, and looking at how they can collaboratively contribute. Finally, Surrey & Borders Partnership Trust talked about building a new mental health hospital and their collaborative work with the local community. If members not in attendance would like copies of the presentations from the day, please email c.walker@nspa.org.uk.

Election results

The results of the NSPA Steering Group election were formally announced at the Annual Members’ Meeting. Of the 10 elected positions on the NSPA Steering Group, there were five positions up for election this year. Competition for the positions was high, with eight members putting candidates forward. We also had a great response from the membership, with 66% of our member organisations voting.

We are delighted to announce the following appointments to the Steering Group:

We are delighted that Network Rail and PAPYRUS have been re-elected to the Steering Group and welcome new members, Leeds Suicide Bereavement Service, Men’s Minds Matter and the Royal College of Nursing.

You can find the full list of Steering Group members along with biographies on the NSPA website. We’d also like to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the Royal College of Psychiatrists for their invaluable contributions to the NSPA over the past three years. Both organisations have been instrumental in supporting the development of the NSPA and although they are stepping down from the Steering Group, will continue to be active members of the alliance.

Parliamentary responsibility for mental health

Minister of State for Community and Social Care, Alistair Burt has decided to step down. Following the recent changes in government, the Department of Health has three new Ministers, which has meant a change in their portfolios and responsibilities.

The Secretary of State, Jeremy Hunt has decided he will lead on mental health. Nicola Blackwood has been appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Innovation, and will also hold responsibility for mental health and suicide prevention. NSPA continues to work closely with the Policy Team at the Department of Health. We will update members on any further changes to Ministerial portfolios relating to suicide prevention and mental health as we are able to. Since our last newsletter Forward for Life, Common Unity, Nottingham City Council, Think2Speak and Suicide Bereavement UK have joined the NSPA.

Please join us in welcoming them.
If you’d like to learn more, click their name to visit their membership page.

From our members

This month we’re featuring a Faculty of Public Health-award-winning initiative from Torbay Council.

Gerry Cadogan, Public Health Principal at Torbay Council tells us about ‘The Lion’s Barber Collective’:

“Tom Chapman is no ordinary barber. When some people lose a friend to suicide, they find it difficult enough to cope with, but Tom realised that he was in a unique position in that his clients tended to confide in him whilst he was cutting their hair, and that whilst they were in his chair he could get to know them better and develop a bond. And he had links all over the country because of his barber colleagues.

“So the Lions Barber Collective was formed. Now it has become an international collective with interest from all over the world, but basically it is a group of top barbers who have come together with the aim of raising awareness about suicide prevention. Through colleagues, Tom has links with PAPYRUS and Pieta House in Eire, but he is working really closely with Torbay Public Health with the goal of reducing male suicide in Torbay, which has an increasing number of male suicides occurring.

“For Torbay Public Health this is a brilliant opportunity to undertake real public health in the workplace, and together with Tom we have been able to raise some funds to develop information leaflets, undertake customer surveys, and recently to pilot the first ‘Barbertalk’, a suicide awareness programme for barbers and hairdressers, which includes a virtual reality film that has been developed with the Hiblio team from Torbay hospital. From a trainer’s perspective, this was a challenge as it takes place in the Barber’s shop, with the mirror being a key player in the relationship. Encouraging the barber to notice body language-what the person is and isn’t saying, and importantly being able to provide information on options and local services comes naturally to Tom but the training tries to equip other barbers to be able to do the same. Realising the potential of using barbers’ shops to get across public health messages is another important part of the initiative and strength and Tom has had messages printed on stickers which are placed inside hair gel lids as an everyday reminder of a key statistic.

“However well the message is getting across to the general public, such as through Tom’s high profile hair promotion events and his appearances in media and magazines, the reality of the challenge that we have set ourselves became apparent when we undertook a customer survey. Whilst men were waiting for their appointment, they were handed a quick survey which asked them to choose the biggest killer of men under forty-five (suicide), and who they would talk to if they felt hopeless – a range of options were given. They were then asked to put their response into an envelope and seal it before they handed it back to the receptionist. They could see that it was completely confidential. When I analysed the responses after one month, the shock for Tom and myself was that although 50% said that they would talk to friends, 50% of men said that they would not talk to anyone. That is a sobering fact. There is still so much to do.”

The Lions Collective project won the Faculty of Public Health (FPH) Mental Health Award, and you can watch the FPH’s video about Torbay’s work to prevent male suicide here.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the project, you can email Gerry directly. Gerry.Cadogan@torbay.gcsx.gov.uk

This month’s interesting picks

Applications now open to become a Time to Change Young Champion
Do you know anyone aged 16-25 who has experience of mental health problems and is passionate about tackling stigma around mental health?

Young Champions are trained to tackle stigma and discrimination, from blogging for Time to Change and speaking at local events, to dispelling myths about mental health amongst friends. They will join a growing group of young people who are changing how we all think and act about mental health.

Deadline for applications: 12th August 2016

Training will take place on 10th and 11th September in London and full details of the role are available online.

Please pass this opportunity on to anyone you think might like to apply. Time to Change are also particularly looking to increase the number of male young champions.

Policy, Briefings & Campaigns.

Health Select Committee – inquiry on suicide

The House of Commons Health Select Committee has launched a new inquiry into Suicide Prevention.  For those of you that may be interested in making a submission, the Committee is inviting written evidence with a deadline of Friday 9 September 2016.  Oral evidence is expected to be taken in October.  Further information and the terms of reference of the inquiry can be found here.

The terms of reference have been published, and submissions to the Committee are welcome to address any or all of these points.

Submissions should not exceed 3000 words and should be submitted using the online written submission form. The Health Committee membership has also been released.

The NSPA will be making a submission to the inquiry and a separate communication about how to have a say in any joint response will follow.

Implementation framework published for the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health

Further to the launch of the Mental Health Taskforce’s report ‘Five Year Forward View for Mental Health’, NHS England have published an accompanying implementation framework, outlining how the NHS and wider partners plan to take the required action to transform the provision of mental health.

The document outlines the changes people can expect to see on the ground, as well as outlining the new funds that will be made available to Clinical Commissioning Groups.

Read the full announcement from NHS England here.

Meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Suicide & Self-Harm Prevention – Wednesday 6th July

The group met to consider the local and national implementation of suicide prevention policy and Abigail Gallop, Senior Advisor at the Local Government Association (LGA), discussed some of the work they are doing to prevent suicide. She covered that councils are very interested in the ‘Zero Suicide’ initiative, but that there is concern it could lead to a blame culture when suicides do happen. The LGA has been working closely with the Government. They have inputted into PHE’s draft guidance which will be published shortly. They welcome the cross-departmental review and the refresh of the suicide prevention strategy which are expected, but cautioned that councils need resources to make change happen. Local councils are good at making the most of the resources that do exist through partnerships. They are doing much work on perinatal mental health, and will be launching a campaign before the end of the year.

Rt. Hon Alistair Burt MP, Minister of State for Community and Social Care discussed his upcoming retirement from frontbench politics, which he had announced the day before the meeting. He plans to continue working on suicide prevention when he is no longer in post, and looks forward to passing on his knowledge to the new minister, including the importance of the APPG and the knowledge within the group. He referenced that the decision to leave the EU would mean that future resources are unlikely to be available but there is much more than can be done with existing resources.

Funding

The Janice Sinson Research Award

The Mental Health Foundation is welcoming submissions for the annual Janice Sinson Mental Health Research Award. The award will highlight key research contributions in mental health by post-graduate researchers.

Submissions by the 11th of August at noon are invited from current full-time or part-time registered post-graduate students within the UK or those who have graduated in the last 12 months. The topic of research is mental health, including public mental health, children and older people’s mental health, severe mental illness and mental health of people with learning disabilities. The Mental Health Foundation would particularly welcome research that adds to knowledge about what works to prevent mental health problems.

Eligibility and assessment criteria can be found online alongside details on the application process and the application form. The prize includes a blog, a news announcement on the Mental Health Foundation’s Website and a sum of £500 for the selected winner, whose work will be promoted by the Mental Health Foundation.

Research

New study finds no evidence of weekend increase in mental health patient suicide

A new study carried out by the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide has found that suicide deaths by mental health patients are actually lower at the weekend.

Professor Nav Kapur, from The University of Manchester and the Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, led the study. Professor Kapur said: “We wanted to explore a possible weekend effect on patient suicide.  We looked at specific groups being treated in hospital or the community who might be particularly vulnerable to changes in care.  We actually found a markedly reduced suicide risk at the weekend.  We also found a reduced risk in people who were admitted at the weekend.”

The paper was published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Watch a video of Professor Nav Kapor talking about the study.
(Two minutes long)

Final research report from Queer Futures on LGBT youth self-harm and suicide released

Queer Futures is a national study investigating the self-harm and suicide of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. It is funded by the Department of Health Policy Research Programme and the research is being led by Dr Elizabeth McDermott, Senior Lecturer based at Lancaster University. It aims to produce knowledge that can contribute to ‘the Government’s Preventing suicide in England’ (2012) Strategy.

The report highlights the difficulties that LGBTQ young people faced when thinking about asking for help. ‘These difficulties stemmed from their isolation, fear and shame that had developed from their experiences of homophobia, biphobia or transphobia, sexual and gender norms, managing their sexual and gender identity across life domains, being unable to talk and other life crises.’

The study identified that more ‘research is needed on the ways that help can be provided and specifically designed for LGBTQ young people.’ There were many poor experiences with mental health services, who ‘were in the main found to be unhelpful. Queer Futures have called for ‘vital’ further research investigating why this is and how these services can be improved.

It is hoped that the results of this study will assist in understanding the needs of young LGBTQ people when they are in distress and therefore assist in reducing the risk of self-harm and suicide.’

You can read the summary here or visit the website for the full report.

For more information on this study please contact Sarah.Steeg@manchester.ac.uk

University of Liverpool; participation call

Laura Abbate is conducting this research as part of her undergraduate degree at the University of Liverpool, which is being supervised by Dr Kate M Bennett.

Please see the attached information sheet for ‘Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Studies of Bereavement in Adults: An insight into family and friends affected by suicide’

Laura is seeking participants who are willing to discuss their experiences, thoughts, and emotions of being bereaved through suicide for a one off interview. Either face to face, by skype or telephone, which ever they participants are most comfortable with.

The interview will be recorded and then transcribed, any personal information will be omitted and only initials will be used.

If you are interested in taking part or would like more information please contact Laura directly:-
L.G.Abbate@student.liverpool.ac.uk

Events

Don’t forget to take a look at the NSPA Events page.
Updates this month include:

Suicide Prevention: Developing Your Local Approach
London
Thursday 22nd September

DrugFAM 8th Annual Bereaved by Addiction Conference ‘Your grief, your journey – experiencing the same thing differently’
High Wycombe
Saturday 1st October

Child Bereavement UK
Suicide – The Impact on Families
Buckinghamshire
Thursday 8th December

Claire Walker
Membership and Communications Officer (NSPA)
National Suicide Prevention Alliance, The Upper Mill, Kingston Road, Ewell, Surrey, KT17 2AF
Telephone: 0208 394 8275 | Switchboard: 020 8394 8300 | E-mail: c.walker@nspa.org.uk | Web: www.nspa.org.uk

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Men and Suicide there’s no strength in silence

Suicide kills 6500 people across the UK each year. Three quarters of all suicides are by men. Benefit Streets’ Dee Kelly talks to Birmingham based Forward For Life and Common Unity to understand why Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 in the UK and what solutions there might be to reduce this silent killer. @therealdeekelly @BigCentreTV @common_unity_ @forwardForlife @PauletteHamilto Freeview ch8 virgin media ch159 or follow the link below http://t.co/ULzKKp6N5k http://t.co/9SiUd3DBtv Big thank you to Prod. Harlow Beats for Music Rain (Prod. Harlow beats) played during the beginning harlowbeats@gmail.com !!Important Disclaimer!! This is an edited version for YouTube, The full version was created and produced by bigcentre.tv

 

Suicides devastate communities and supporting those bereaved by suicide is a mammoth task in its own right. With over 6000 people each year taking their own lives across communities in the UK, the impact on families, friends and wider communities is unfathomable because its a fact that for each and every suicide that occurs, at least 16 other people are directly effected by the loss. Because of the nature of suicide and the difficulty for those bereaved by suicide to  cope, organisations such asCruse Bereavement Birmingham provide an invaluable level of support both individually and at a group level.

It is because of their unrelenting hard work and dedication to supporting people bereaved by suicide that all monies raised from this ASIST course on the 10th and 11th September (the 10th being World Suicide Prevention Day) will be donated to Cruse Bereavement Birmingham.

This 2 Day course, in association with Forward For Life, is only being offered to a maximum of ten delegates and is only available to organisations and people across the West Midlands at a one off reduced price of £100 per delegate for the full licensed two day course being delivered by ASIST Master Trainers.

If you are interested in being part of this great opportunity to support an excellent local charity in continuing their great work in supporting people bereaved by loss then please get in touch with us by email or give us a call on 07585776800.

What we do to prevent suicide in the United Kingdom

A brief insight into the work of Forward For Life and Common Unity Social Enterprise through the suicide prevention programme S-O-S – working hard to make a real impact on the challenge of suicide across the United Kingdom through specialist training in safeTALK and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. 

Common Unity Social Enterprise

Is a Health and Social Care organisation specialising in working on mental health and well-being with ‘hard to reach’ communities. It was established in 2009 by community activists from BME communities who were also mental health professionals, and who had grown up in the inner city areas of the West Midlands. Our personal and professional experiences have formed our instincts about, and specific insights into, what works in communication with a wide range of audiences.

Forward For Life

communities who have the challenges are, more often than not, the very same communities that hold the solution. Forward For Life operates with the core belief that although there are many challenges that exist across and within our communities, solutions to these challenges are also to be found across and within our communities. 
 
With an overall goal of supporting communities to be Suicide Safer, we adopt forward thinking approaches to reduce inequalities and promote opportunities for enhanced well-being and improved quality of life – We believe this is both an achievable expectation across all our communities and the right of each and every individual within.

Common Unity & Forward For Life speak live on BBC WM 95.6 on the topic of suicide and suicide prevention. Common Unity, Forward For Life and Time to Change were invited to speak at BBC WM 9.5 / BBC West Midlands Radio 95.6 on ChatBack on the subject of suicide and more importantly, suicide prevention.

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Youtube video below, to listen to the full BBC radio show.

Suicide Crisis Receives Accolade for its Life Saving service

Suicide Crisis, a Cheltenham based charity which offers a safe space for people who have suicidal thoughts so they can be heard and supported, have been recognised for their dedication to suicide prevention in receiving The SOS Suicide Safer Community Award. Suicide Crisis was set up in 2013 by a survivor of suicidal crisis.

She couldn’t find the type of support she needed, so she set about creating it in Gloucestershire. Suicide Crisis has a small team who get to know clients well, and offer continuity of care. The Team members are very well-trained, but their personal qualities (empathy, kindness and commitment) are of even great importance.

The charity is being accessed by people who say that they would not go to their GP or other services. The SOS award is a new accolade that is presented to organisations that have gone that extra mile to support communities to be suicide safer. 

The award was presented by Forward For Life and Common Unity who are the Birmingham based founders of the SOS Suicide Prevention Programme (www.s-o-s.org.uk). The SOS programme champions suicide prevention both across communities and within organisations with the clear goal of reducing the stigma that surrounds suicide through campaigning, local strategic support and specialist training.

Joy Hibbins, Founder and Director at Suicide Crisis insisted that two of the volunteers collect the reward – “Janie Dimopoulos and Rupinder Kaur Bassi are receiving the award on behalf of Suicide Crisis. The award is in recognition of the work that Suicide Crisis does and it’s in particular recognition of the exceptional team that we have. Janie and Rupinder epitomise the kind of dedicated, highly skilled, caring individuals that make up our team.”

Terry Rigby, Company Director at Forward For Life, said: “Suicide Crisis provide an exceptional service to local communities – their dedication to saving lives, enhanced by having the necessary skills to best reach out to people when they are at their lowest ebb is admirable.”

Caron Thompson, Company Director at Common Unity, said: “For me, one of the most inspiring aspects of Suicide Crisis is that it is only down to the unwavering hard work, personal investment and time of Joy and the volunteers that this charity exists – Cheltenham and the County of Gloucestershire are very fortunate to have on the ground support from this dedicated service.”

Birmingham-based Common Unity and Forward For Life are leading the way across the West Midlands and further afield in offering the internationally recognised safeTALK and ASIST courses as a joint approach to establishing ‘Suicide Safer Communities’. They bring with them nearly 40 years of expertise and specialist knowledge in the fields of suicide prevention, mental health and well-being. Recent national and regional Public Health information has shown that Gloucestershire continues to have a much higher suicide rate than the national average. However, only a third of the people who have completed suicide in those years had used mental health services.

Suicide is one of the biggest taboos in modern day society; a phenomenon that affects so many people in our communities in so many ways and yet has not been tackled by our communities. In Britain, each year, more than 6000 people kill themselves; that’s 4000 more deaths per year than occur on all our roads. Yet suicide remains a taboo subject that most people won’t entertain talking about it, never mind feeling able to support someone who they think might be considering taking their own life.

In 2011, the suicide rate in the U.K. drastically shot up, reaching a 7 year high.Dudley MBC have recognised this and have begun working closely with two West Midlands based specialist organisations in the field of suicide prevention to make Dudley Suicide Safer.

A key approach to suicide prevention is through the delivery of internationally respected and recognised training that looks to strengthen the knowledge base, the skill base and the resilience levels within and across our communities for all community members both in a professional context and general population context.

safeTALK and ASIST are two internationally licensed and endorsed training programmes that engage communities with the myriad of challenges that suicide brings and enables communities to play a vital interventionist role in preventing suicidal behaviour. The Office of Public Health, Dudley MBC are bringing this training to Dudley in 2014.

To date Common Unity and Forward For Life have led the implementation of delivering both safeTALK and ASIST as part of a combined approach to enabling communities to be Suicide Safer.

This training has engaged recipients from a range of backgrounds including Mental Health specialist services, teachers, lecturers, the housing sector, bereavement services, suicide support groups, counsellors, carers, GP’s, front line primary care workers, the emergency services, specialist third sector organisations who work with vulnerable communities (e.g. Homeless, Substance Misuse), Service User Forums, health sector commissioners, the private healthcare sector and social workers.

However, Forward For Life and Common Unity are not just about training. They see a need to address suicide through a number of approaches under the banner of the SOS Programme being currently pushed out across the West Midlands.

This programme looks to ensure that strategically suicide prevention is addressed at a local level; that the stigma and taboo surrounding suicide is directly challenged through campaigns and specialist training across communities and the health and social care sector and that organisations and commissioning bodies are recognised for their engagement with the suicide prevention agenda. Dudley MBC are fully signed up to the SOS Programme recognising the need to challenge the issue of suicide through more than just training.

If you want more information about the SOS programme please visit www.s-o-s.org.uk. If you interested to know more about Forward For Life and Common Unity and the work they are doing then don’t hesitate to get in touch with either of the partners.

Download issue No. 02 Public Mental Health e-Bulletin below

One suicide is one too many, Caron Thompson and Terry Rigby Podcast one

One suicide is one too many and with suicide rates being on the increase across communities there is a need for innovative and assertive action. Caron Thompson of Common Unity Social Enterprise and Terry Rigby of Forward For Life provide one solution to supporting communities to become Suicide Safer.

 

“Suicide does not end the chances of life getting worse. 
Suicide eliminates the possibility of it ever getting better.”

 

The true number of people who take their own lives is being masked by coroners, academics have warned.

Many more inquests are ending in “narrative verdicts” rather than a ruling that someone killed themselves, often because of caution over their intention. But it is feared that this may mean up to 6 per cent of suicides being wrongly classified as accidents, which could be “masking the effects of the economic crisis on suicide”. In an editorial published in the British Medical Journal, Prof David Gunnell at the University of Bristol and colleagues said:

“This increased use of narrative verdicts has important effects on the estimation of national suicide rates because these verdicts present coding difficulties for the Office for National Statistics – when suicide intent is unclear such deaths are coded as accidents.”

Official figures show there were 4,648 suicides in England and Wales in 2009, based on the verdicts given by coroners after inquests into unexpected deaths. But many hangings, overdoses and poisonings are being treated as possible accidents, with coroners ending inquests in narrative verdicts that give an account of how the death occurred in a few sentences. The number of narrative verdicts has risen from just 111 in 2001 to 3,012 – more than one in 10 inquests – in 2009. This is despite the fact that suicide is sometimes strongly implied in the verdict, with phrases used such as

“deceased took his own life with an accidental overdose”,

according to the BMJ study. If all deaths from hanging and poisoning were classed as suicides rather than given narrative verdicts, the suicide rate would be 6 per cent higher. This would account for almost a third of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy’s target of reducing suicides by 20 per cent. But even this figure could be an underestimate because the ONS did not include all common methods of killing oneself. The academics warn: “As the use of narrative verdicts rises, so too may the underestimation of suicide. “The consequences of this could be incorrect rate estimates, misleading evaluations of national and local prevention activity, and masking of the effects of the current economic crisis on suicide.

“Furthermore, because coroners vary greatly in their use of narrative verdicts, suicide rates may (falsely) seem to decline in areas served by coroners who make most use of such verdicts.”

Male suicides at highest level for a decade while rate for men aged 45-59 is at worst level since 1986

Some 6,045 people killed themselves in 2011, an increase of 437 since 2010.

The highest suicide rate was among men aged between 30 and 44. About 23 men per 100,000 took their own lives. On average, across both sexes, 11.8 people per 100,000 population killed themselves in 2011, up from 11.1 people the previous year.

The ONS data revealed there were 4,552 suicides by men in 2011, more than three times the number by women and the highest rate since 2002. The suicide rate among middle-aged men aged 45 to 59 was also high, increasing from 21.7 deaths in 2006 to 22.2 deaths per 100,000 people in 2011.

Continue reading “UK suicide rate rises ‘significantly’ in 2011”