Suicide prevention support
Suicide support helplines
Papyrus HOPELINE UK: confidential support and advice for young people under 35; and for anyone worried about a young person.
- Telephone: 0800 068 41 41 (24/7)
- Text: 88247
- Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org
Childline: 24 hour confidential helpline for children and young people.
- Telephone: 0800 1111
Samaritans: charity aimed at providing support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope or at risk of suicide
- Telephone: 116 123
- Email: jo@samaritans.org
Shining a Light on Suicide : Information and advice for young people and their parents and carers
Levels of self-harm continues to rise amongst our young people and though a taboo subject for many, which adds to stigma and feelings of shame, we need to understand and talk about it more if we are going to find a way to support those affected, provide support at the earliest opportunity and reduce the incidence of self-harm.
The difficulty of understanding why someone may hurt themselves and fear of making things worse can stop us engaging with this difficult issue at all.
NHS Greater Manchester has produced information resources for young people and their parents and carers which explain why people may self-harm, how to talk about it and strategies to help young people manage their emotions before they reach a crisis, while highlighting sources of help.
You can access the Shining a Light on Suicide website here.
You can find more information here: Young people and self-harm - Shining a Light on Suicide
Suicide has an enormous impact in families and communities. When losing someone to suicide, one can go through many different, complicated emotions. There's no right or wrong way to feel or to react. If you have lost someone to suicide please reach out to bereavement services for support.
The Greater Manchester Bereavement Service is there to help anyone living in Greater Manchester struggling with bereavement, including suicide bereavement. The service offers support for people who have been bereaved or affected by a death, no matter the cause of death or how long it’s been The service also provides support for professionals seeking advice for others.
There is no referral to GM Bereavement Service. You can access the service via telephone or email Telephone: 0161 983 0902 (Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm, excluding Bank Holidays) Email: salccg.gm.bs@nhs.net.
If you are in distress, please call Samaritans on 116 123 at no cost, any time of the day or night. Whatever you’re going through, a Samaritan will face it with you.
For more information and support with bereavement please see our bereavement support page here.
Papyrus: Parents' Guide To Keep Kids Suicide-Free
Papyrus has launched a new guide to help desperate parents who fear for their children’s lives, the new guide offers practical and professional advice to help break the silence around self-harm and suicide and encourage fearful parents to talk to their children before it is too late. The guide, Supporting Your Child - Self-Harm and Suicide, has been endorsed by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
It was commissioned by the mother and father of a 15-year-old boy who took his own life, parents who were frustrated by the lack of information and resources for worried families. You can access the audio version of this guide by clicking here.
School support
Papyrus a national charity for the prevention for young suicide, targeted at young people under the age of 35, has a range of free information including suicide safety plans, coping strategies and conversation starters available to download. .
Building Suicide-Safer Schools and Colleges: A Guide for Teachers and Staff
Overview: a guide to suicide prevention, intervention and postvention in schools and colleges, aimed specifically at teachers as well as school or college staff. It aims to equip teachers with the skills and knowledge necessary to support schoolchildren who may be having suicidal thoughts.
Our guide uses a ‘community-model’ – supporting the belief that suicide is everyone’s business and that the community must be equipped and supported to prevent young suicide – as well as urging children young people to speak up or ask for help.
To download please use the following link: Guide for teachers and staff
Step by Step is a Samaritans service that provides practical support and guidance to help school and college communities prepare for, and recover from a suspected or attempted suicide.
The Step by Step team aims to:
- Provide information and support to help the school community come to terms with what has happened and prevent stigma and isolation in the school community;
- Support school communities to reduce the risk of further suicide;
- Reach out to high risk people and communities to reduce the risk of further suicide
Samaritans' booklet 'Help When We Needed it Most' is a resource to help to plan and deliver an effective response, available in the downloadable section at the bottom of the page.
Contact: 0808 168 2528 / stepbystep@samaritans.org
Website: Samaritans
Free online Training: Suicide Let's Talk
Overview: The training is suitable for anyone - carers, family members and professionals. It is not mental health-specific, but provides a useful approach to talking about suicide and signposting people to professional help.
The training has been developed in partnership between Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and Relias for the Zero Suicide Alliance.
To access the training please use the following link: Suicide Let's Talk
Salford Suicide Prevention Strategy 2017-2022
Please note that the Suicide Prevention Strategy is now being updated. Once the new Strategy is finalized we will update this content. Until then we are leaving the page as is for information.
Preventing suicide in Salford: all public sector partners in Salford are working together to address the devastating impact that suicide has on families and communities and ensure that suicide should always be considered an avoidable occurrence.
Salford’s Vision: Our vision is that Salford is a city where suicide is considered to be an avoidable occurrence; where key partners work together to ensure that appropriate and accessible support is available at a time of personal crisis; where people do not consider suicide as the only solution to the difficulties that they face; a city which strives towards an aspiration of zero deaths by suicide.
Our objectives are:
- Salford will achieve Suicide Safer Community accreditation
- Develop an awareness of suicide prevention and increase capacity of individuals and organisations to respond to and engage proactively with individuals in distress and individual who are perceived to be at high risk of suicide.
- Provide effective support to individuals who have been affected by a suicide bereavement
- Build a wider partnership approach
- Align and / or incorporate the Salford Suicide Prevention Strategy with other strategies and programmes
- Making a difference
The strategy and action plan can be accessed on the Salford ICP website.
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