Suicide ‘is everybody’s business’ and we can all support those at risk to get the help they need, say local charities.
JONNY BENJAMIN – the man who touched the heart of millions earlier this year with his #FindMike search for the stranger who talked him out of suicide – helped launch the ground-breaking STOP Suicide campaign today, World Suicide Prevention Day.
Jonny – who has just launched a film Finding Mike about his search for the man who helped him – joined local charities Mind in Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Fenland Mind and Lifecraft for the launch. The campaign team talked to shoppers at both Lion Yard, Cambridge, and Serpentine Green, Peterborough. “We have talked to so many people today, many of whom have signed the pledge,” says project manager Aly Anderson. “It has been both uplifting and hopeful for us to meet so many compassionate people who want to do what they can to reach out to people who are in distress and potentially at risk of suicide.”
Emily Gray, CEO of Peterborough & Fenland Mind added: “We have also been really encouraged by the reactions of shoppers at Serpentine Green to the campaign. So many people showed their support and signed the STOP Suicide Pledge.”
STOP Suicide is an innovative suicide prevention campaign that seeks to make Peterborough and Cambridgeshire a suicide-safer community by encouraging members of the public to be aware of the suicide warning signs, ask directly about suicide if they are worried about someone and support those at risk to get help. Organisations and individuals are being asked to make the STOP Suicide pledge – see www.stopsuicidepledge.org – carry the STOP Suicide Pledge card and wear the ‘I’d Ask’ badge.
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- Jonny Benjamin and the STOP Suicide Campaign team
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- Lots of people making the STOP Suicide Pledge
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- Our display at the STOP Suicide Pledge launch day
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- STOP Suicide statistics posters
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- Sharing stories on the launch day.
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- Jonny Benjamin supporting the STOP Suicide Campaign
Funded by NHS England and supported by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Cambridgeshire County Council’s Public Health Team, the campaign focuses on the message that suicide “is everybody’s business” and that you don’t have to be a professional to help someone who is suicidal.
The campaign launches its website (www.stopsuicidepledge.org) today and will be providing suicide prevention training across the county together with free resources offering guidance on how to recognise suicide warning signs and how to respond to someone who is feeling suicidal.
The project also aims to challenge the stigma and myths around suicide and reassure people that an open and honest approach to suicide is the best way to help prevent it.
Training
Fully funded place are being offered on the internationally-recognised ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) course. This training will be available to non-mental health professionals based in and around Peterborough, Cambridge and Wisbech, as these are the areas with the highest incidences of suicide county-wide. The project will also be developing its own skills-based workshop which will include the opportunity for others within the community to attend a “train the trainer” course.
STOP Suicide Pledge
The STOP Suicide Pledge invites organisations and individuals to commit to being alert for suicide warning signs, ask people directly about suicide if they are worried about them, listen to them without judgement and help them to get the support they need.
So how can you get involved?
Sign the pledge – and encourage others to do so
Take advantage of the training opportunities available
Display STOP Suicide resources
Become a “Campaign Maker” and distribute the resources within your community.
“If this campaign encourages more people to feel OK about talking directly about suicide, whether that be about their own feelings or with someone they are worried about, then we will have achieved something really important,” says Aly Anderson, campaign project manager. “The fact is that around 1 in 5 of us will have had suicidal thoughts at some point – it’s about time we started talking about that.”
Support for those in distress:
Samaritans 08457909090 (24hr)
Lifeline (Cambridgeshire Helpline) 0808 8082121 (7-11pm)
Cambridgeshire:
Aly Anderson, STOP Suicide project manager aly.anderson@mindincambs.org.uk
T.: 07930282792
Sarah Hughes, CEO, Mind in Cambridgeshire sarah.hughes@mindincambs.org.uk
T 07826 523900.
Peterborough:
Emily Gray, CEO, Peterborough & Fenland Mind
Jo McHattie, business development manager, Peterborough & Fenland Mind: Jo.McHattie@pfmind.org.uk
T.01733 530650