“Be Kind, Be Brave and Give Hope” and “Take Action. Prevent Suicide”.
On the 3rd April Cumbrian Suicide Prevention and Bereavement
Support charity Every Life Matters hosted their first Suicide Prevention
Conference at Rheged Centre, Penrith.
192 Delegates attended the day to learn more about suicide
prevention, self-harm and suicide bereavement with the key messages of the day
being “Be Kind, Be Brave and Give Hope” and “Take Action. Prevent Suicide”.
Delegates were encouraged to start conversations to help break down the stigma
surrounding suicide and mental health and importantly, to take action to
prevent suicide within both their work places and communities.
The conference was opened by Kate Bainbridge, co-founder of
Every Life Matters and Cumbria Woman of the Year 2024. Kate was followed by a
film of the brave and inspiring Every Life Matters Young People Team who then
spoke to delegates of their lived experience of bereavement by suicide and
their own suicidal thoughts and self-harm. They urged delegates to take action
and to help break the stigma and to create a society where suicide is openly
spoken about.
“Hearing from the young people who were so brave sharing
their personal stories- inspirational!” – Conference Delegate Feedback
The messages of the young people team were followed by
information and statistics from Colin Cox and Katrina Stephens (Public Health
Leads for Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness Councils) and an outline of
the Cumbria Suicide Prevention Strategy.
Every Life Matters co-founders Juliet Gray & Chris Wood
talked about why Suicide is Everyone’s Business – reminding delegates that
everyone has a role to play in creating a society where suicide is openly
talked about, where people feel able to seek help when all feels lost, and are
properly supported when they do reach out.
“It was a privilege to be able to speak to a room full of
motivated and caring people who will all go away with the tools and passion to
make a difference within their workplaces and communities. To start the day
with our brave and amazing young people really set the scene that we need to
act now for future generations (and our own) to live and thrive in a society
where suicide is openly spoken about and help is never far away. The day was a
success thanks to the collaboration of speakers and organisations alongside the
amazing team at Every Life Matters.” – Chris Wood, CEO and Co-Founder, Every
Life Matters.
Workshops, led by the Every Life Matters Training team with
input from external experts were varied such as Creating Suicide Safer Schools
and Postvention in the Workplace: Responding to an Employee Suicide to
Neurodiversity Safety Planning and Supporting Suicide Bereaved Children and
Young People. Alongside the wide range of workshops, the conference was
attended by delegates from a wide mixture of workplaces, creating a unique
shared learning experience.
“I came away as inspired and as informed as l possibly could
have been.”- Conference Delegate Feedback
“A difficult subject delivered with honesty, directness and
reality. Grounded, relatable, appropriate and supportive.” - Conference
Delegate Feedback
The charity are looking forward to making the conference an
annual occurrence and to continue to educate as many people as possible in
suicide prevention and to raise awareness of the topic.
If you or anyone you know are experiencing thoughts of
suicide and need support, don’t hesitate to contact Samaritans on 116 123 or
any of the organisations in the Every Life Matters Support Directory: Support Directory - Every Life
Matters Suicide Safer Cumbria.
For more information about where to get help when you are
struggling with thoughts of suicide, or how you can support someone at risk, or
if you have been bereaved by suicide, visit every-life-matters.org.uk. If you
are having thoughts of suicide support is available at;
North Cumbria NHS Universal Mental Health Crisis Line 0800
652 2865 open 24 hrs a day/7 days a week
South Cumbria NHS Urgent Mental Health Support Line 0800 953
0110 open 24 hrs a day/7 days a week
Samaritans – Call 116 123 – There round the clock, 24 hours
a day, 365 days a year.
PAPYRUS – Call 0800 068 41 41 – 9am to midnight. Support
line for young people at risk of suicide.
CALM – Call 0800 58 58 58. Men’s Helpline open 5pm –
Midnight
Shout Crisis Text Service – Text Shout to 85258 to get 24/7
text support
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