PAPYRUS Newsletter March 2016

HOPELineUK: a lifeline for young people with thoughts of suicide – pages 4-5

Newsletter Edition Number 55

In this Issue: Highlights 04-05 09

HOPELineUK: Huge surge in demand Our Campaigns

12-13

Mandatory Suicide Prevention Training. Why not?

14-15

Volunteering with PAPYRUS

16

Barber Talk – Connecting in everyday spaces

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Behind the Headlines

18

Building Suicide Safer Communities

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Young People’s Champions

Get in Touch We’ve moved!

Our Head Office is now: Lineva House 28-32 Milner Street Warrington Cheshire WA5 1AD

West Midlands Regional Office: Office 510B, The Big Peg 120 Vyse Street Birmingham B18 6NF

PAPYRUS is the national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide in the UK. Registered Charity Number 1070896.

This newsletter is also available on our website.

Patrons Rt Hon David Hanson MP Rt Hon David Heathcoat-Amory

Honorary Advisor Professor David Gunnell – University of Bristol

Would you prefer to receive this newsletter electronically?

Let us know by email: admin@papyrus-uk.org

Tel: 01925 572 444 Fax: 01925 240 502 www.papyrus-uk.org

HOPELineUK is a confidential support and advice service for young people under the age of 35 who may be having thoughts of suicide, or anyone concerned about a young person. If you need suicide prevention advice contact HOPELineUK: Call: 0800 068 41 41 Text: 07786209697 Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org Any information contained in this newsletter is intended for guidance only and is not a substitute for professional advice. No responsibility for loss occasioned as a result of any person acting or refraining from acting because of what is written in the newsletter can be accepted by the publisher, authors or PAPYRUS Trustees.

Design sponsored by TBWA\Manchester

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Dear members and friends of PAPYRUS Welcome to our first newsletter of 2016.

Lots of literature out there, including some of our own, encourages young people who feel down to seek help. However, I often feel that this places the responsibility for reducing personal distress on shoulders already burdened.

Young people talk to PAPYRUS daily through our HOPELineUK service.

Many say, “You are the only ones I can speak to about this”. The image on the front cover challenges all of us to ask each other how we are and, yes, to discuss suicide openly and sensitively.

A suicide-safer community for young people would surely mean that all our contacts and friends would not hide from such talk for fear of making things worse by doing so.

Our training and our community engagement projects help with this and, with our partners, we are working hard to extend that open dialogue about suicide with communities and organisations across the UK. We are hugely indebted to those who support our work. Parents and family often share their experience to influence our campaigns. Young people engaging in their own communities through our development projects change attitudes and break new ground. Our many local fundraisers do much more than raise important funds – they enable connections to the charity which no doubt lead to suicide intervention and reduced isolation.

As a membership organisation, our strength comes from those who have been touched personally by young suicide and who share our passion to save young lives. Membership is open to all who wish to help to prevent young suicide – and as of December 2015, we took the decision to make membership free of charge. Do you, a friend or a family member want to join us? Enter your details, or renew your membership if you are already part of PAPYRUS, at papyrus-uk.org* We are looking forward to a series of PAPYRUS roadshow events in different regions of the UK this year, where we will share our work and our plans. More details will be on our website soon. It would be really good to see you at one of these events.

PAPYRUS does make a difference. One young person allowed me to share what he fed back recently to us: “ T hank you for being there. You have helped me to cope with my thoughts about ending it all. You are all I have just now.”

In turn, thank you for helping us make this happen.

Best wishes

Chief Executive * If you have paid your membership from January 2016 onwards, please let us know and we will be happy to issue you a refund. If you have a standing order set up with us, you will need to cancel this with your bank. Alternatively, if you would like to continue making a regular donation in place of your membership fee, we would be delighted to accept it.

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Huge surge in demand for support Increasing by

33% EACH WEEK

Since 2013, contacts to our text, email and helpline services have as much as quadrupled, offering a lifeline to young people with thoughts of suicide and those concerned about them. In November and December 2015, the average number of contacts had risen to over 1,000 per week and, in recent weeks, the number of new clients using our text and email service increased by an average of 33% each week.

These figures show the vital role we are playing in the prevention of young suicide.

HOPELineUK is the PAPYRUS national helpline, text and email service staffed by mental health professionals who provide practical advice and support and will intervene to keep young people safe. Given that our service is

DEMAND HAS QUADRUPLED SINCE 2013

specifically dedicated towards keeping young people suicide-safe, this increase is remarkable.

A number of factors lie behind this – increased advisors staffing HOPELineUK, the growth in our outreach projects reaching out to more young people, regular awareness and training sessions, increased media presence, new partnerships and collaborations, and the dedicated efforts of members and supporters to raise awareness in their communities.

We also have evidence that social media communications are driving increased traffic to our website.

Could this also reflect a broader shift in attitudes towards mental health? Are efforts to reduce the stigma surrounding suicide having an impact?

Calls, texts and emails to HOPELineUK 2013 – 2015 6000

2013

5000 4000

2014

3000 2000

2015

04

Dec

Nov

Oct

Sep

Aug

Jul

Jun

May

Apr

Mar

Feb

Jan

1000

THE POWER OF A TEXT

HUGE INCREASES FOR 2015

In December 2015, over 100 new users reached out to us through our text and email services. For those who may feel embarrassed or find difficulty in expressing how they feel, putting their emotions and thoughts into a text can offer a lifeline.

HOPELineUK advisors hear a wide range of issues that young people feel are contributing to their thoughts and feelings of suicide.

Living with illness, bullying, sexual and domestic abuse and eating disorders remain common themes. Unsurprisingly contacts in recent months have also reflected feelings of hopelessness in coping with the new school, college and university year, and we know that the holidays can be a particularly tough time for young people.

Many young people rarely use their ‘phone to make a call – smartphones allow them to access information quickly and discretely, and texting allows them to access suicide prevention advice in a way that they are comfortable with. This also enables access to advice and support throughout the day without missing contact with friends.

Our skilled interventions result in fewer referrals and reports to emergency services – although we will get this help if life is in imminent danger. We know from feedback that our intervention policy does not put young people off contacting us. It is good to know that those who are at risk of suicide are reaching out to PAPYRUS.

It is not surprising that our text and email service is by far the most popular way for young people to make contact with us.

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Working with partners

TO PREVENT YOUNG SUICIDE National Suicide Prevention Alliance PAPYRUS is committed to working in partnership with our colleagues at National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA).

Together, we are an alliance of public, private, voluntary and community organisations in England who care about suicide prevention and are willing to take action to reduce suicide and support those affected by suicide.

PAPYRUS recently led a workshop at the NSPA annual conference (details on page 8).

More details on how to get involved as an organisation in the NSPA are available at www.nspa.org.uk

National Institute for Health and Clinical Exellence We have been involved in a number of working groups this year: with NICE (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), we are looking at improving the mental health support of those in touch with the criminal justice system. Along with NHS South of England, we are working to ensure families are included in investigations following the death of a loved one in the care of the NHS. See page 8 for more details.

Your money helps us save young lives – visit our website and click the ‘Donate’ button to help us continue our work in getting young people struggling with suicide the help and hope they need.

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Support After Suicide Partnership PAPYRUS has participated in the formation of the Support After Suicide Partnership (formerly Suicide Bereavement Support Partnership) and supported its work to update and circulate Help Is At Hand.

You can download this from their website, or please contact our offices if you would like a hard copy. More information on the partnership is available at www.supportaftersuicide.org.uk

Public Health England Public Health England has recently published a number of pieces of guidance for local authorities and other agencies.

Of particular note, PAPYRUS welcomed the guidance for nurses on preventing suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people.

Ministry of Justice We are in discussions with the National Offender Management Service around supporting young people in prison who may be at risk of suicide and working with those who keep them safe.

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Empowering Communities through Collaborationn At the National Suicide Prevention Alliance’s annual conference in London in February, PAPYRUS was invited to deliver a workshop to share the evaluation of its Suicide Safer Communities for Young People (SSCYP) pilot project. Presented by two of our young volunteers, Laura Marrs from Manchester and Jamie Tones from Newcastle, along with our Regional Development Manager Karen May, the workshop was a fantastic success.

Many of the workshop participants are now interested in funding and hosting a Suicide Safer Communities project in their own communities.

For more information about our SSCYP projects please contact Karen: karen.may@papyrus-uk.org

Care in the Criminal Justice System The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) establishes treatment guidelines for the NHS in a range of clinical and social care areas. Recently, our Chairman, Stephen Habgood, has been involved in the drafting of two Clinical Guidelines for NICE. The first is a guideline for the mental health care of those involved in the Criminal Justice System – from first involvement with the police, to transfer to court.

This includes people given a community order, serving a sentence of imprisonment, or the end of a sentence in the community.

Stephen brings with him experience as a prison governor and former Head of Prisoner Escort Service, and is keen to ensure that suicide prevention is given a high priority in the guideline which will be published later this year. This will go through a complex public consultation before finally becoming an obligation on the police and the National Offender Management Service. Separate guidelines on the physical health care of those in prison custody are also being produced and will be published later this year.

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The second guideline is to establish staffing levels in in-patient mental health care.

Although early progress was very promising, the Health Secretary decided to discontinue this work and asked the Chief Nursing Officer to take it forward; at present there is no update on this. However, following his involvement with NICE, Stephen has since been invited to join a Study Steering Committee for a project being led by the University of Southampton to create a tool to determine nurse staffing levels.

Individual Interventions PAPYRUS is pressing for improvements to the way in which the investigations of deaths are conducted by the NHS. Our Chairman Stephen Habgood felt that the investigation into the death of his son Christopher in 2009 was inadequate and believes that an independent investigation would be more appropriate – an experience which is shared by other PAPYRUS members and supporters.

For the last two years Stephen has been working with Making Families Count, a group of charities, families and individuals who share similar concerns about the standard of NHS investigations. The initiative is being led by NHS England South, who have delivered a series of very challenging workshops to press for greater candour and honesty in investigations.

Subsequent reporting has caused enormous interest in improving investigations, and ensuring that families are involved in them.

Making Families Count has since been invited to deliver a number of workshops across the UK to improve the standard of NHS investigations. It would be encouraging to see an improvement in the standard of investigations into young suicides, too.

Our Campaigns PAPYRUS campaigns on a number of vital issues.

We also help our members and supporters to work on issues which are important to them.

Changing the Standard of Proof Suicide has not been a crime since 1961 in the UK – yet the law demands that coroners use the criminal standard of proof to reach a suicide conclusion at inquest. We believe this skews official statistics and perpetuates suicide stigma – which makes people less likely to seek help. We have continued to press the Ministry of Justice to look at a change to the law.

THESE ARE JUST SOME OF OUR CURRENT CONCERNS AND WE BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE HAS A ROLE TO PLAY IN PREVENTING YOUNG SUICIDE. Improving Services HOPELineUK receives countless calls, texts and e-mails from people who tell us that services are not meeting the needs of those who are vulnerable to suicide. We have written to the Department of Health on a number of issues relating to care for young people presenting with suicidal risk at primary and secondary care services.

Better Information Sharing Along with other members of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group (England), we pushed for the Consensus Statement about Confidentiality. However, this remains unknown to many practitioners. This can mean that many young people may not get the support they need from those who know them best. We will continue to raise these concerns at the national level.

Suicide Safer Internet and Social Media

Responsible Media Reporting We encourage and monitor responsible reporting of We continue to press Government suicide, requesting removal of copy that contains wording and Internet Service Providers to that falls outside official guidelines or that may cause grief take responsibility to protect young to those bereaved. This includes excessive, sensational people from online suicide risks. We headlines; detail of suicide method and location; naming know that the risks posed by social online sites that promote suicide; speculation of ‘reason media are of concern to many, and why’; endorsing myths; or making the deceased appear we will seek active moderation heroic or brave. of sites, empower users to be suicide-safe, and take advantage of preventative measures currently being developed by social media providers (for example, Facebook’s new suicide prevention tool).

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Learn suicide awareness, alertness and intervention

SKILLS TO SAVE YOUNG LIVES Over 200 individuals have become life-assisting caregivers after attending one of our Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) workshops. Hundreds of others have been made suicide aware through our awareness training, following huge demand from across the UK. A key part in ASIST training is the model known as ‘The Pathway for Assisting Life’.

This helps participants to be suicide alert in order to identify a person at risk of suicide, £195 can cover the cost of training someone in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)

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listen to their thoughts of suicide, and work with them collaboratively to get them to a place where they feel able to keep safe for now.

We know that ASIST is one of the most effective models in helping those with thoughts of suicide. The course is not only taught UK-wide but also internationally, having been developed by the Canadian organisation ‘Living Works Education’. It is the first suicide prevention programme to be listed under the new, more stringent standards found in the revised National Registry for Evidence-based Programmes and Practices (NREPP).

To find out more about our ASIST courses, visit: www.papyrus-uk.org/training/asist or contact: training@papyrus-uk.org

I hope that and wish that this training is provided to everyone working with young people and young people themselves – really accessible framework

Staffordshire University Participant

Andover Participant

It seems to me that this is a model which can be used by anyone. I now feel more confident about intervening in a suicide situation

I was brought up with suicide being a dirty word even after losing three siblings to it but now I feel stronger and confident about approaching the subject with family.

Thank you

Newcastle participant

What people say about our training...

This was an excellent course that has clarified for me how to react in situations where a young person is experiencing suicidal thoughts. It has given me far more confidence and reassured me that my approach is a positive one and not a damaging one

I am a counsellor and so have experience of working with suicidal clients – however I found this model to be so useful in helping me plan my intervention and feel confident in the first instance I am ensuring the safety of my client. I will definitely use this model from now on

Andover Participant

Andover Participant

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MANDATORY SUICIDE PREVENTION TRAINING. WHY NOT? Sangeeta lost her son, Saagar, to suicide in October 2014.

Here she shares her experience and why she is calling for mandatory suicide prevention training.

One Saturday afternoon our GP called to say that my Vitamin D levels were low and I must collect medication for it asap.

I was impressed. Here was a doctor who cared and paid attention to detail.

A few months later my son, Saagar, was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. He was discharged by the psychiatric services into the GP’s care so as to enable him to continue his education abroad. However Saagar had to be brought home within two days as he felt very depressed and could not cope. An immediate appointment was made with our GP on his return. Over the following few weeks Saagar was seen by the GP every two weeks.

This is what the GP said every time we raised concerns about Saagar’s health and requested a referral: “It is better to keep him a bit 12

depressed so that the mania does not come back.” ”They are going to do the same thing I am doing.” ”This is not the first time I am treating a patient like this.”

Tragically, Saagar went on to end his life on the 16th of October 2014, within six weeks of returning home. It came as a huge shock to us as not a single health professional had mentioned the word ‘suicide’ to us.

I started writing a blog that day and have been writing everyday since: www.kidsaregifts. wordpress.com. At the coroner’s inquest the GP claimed that he did not know that Saagar had Bipolar Disorder as the discharge letter did not mention it. It only said – Hypomania.

To my utter horror and dismay he went on to say, “Suicides are unpredictable and unpreventable.”

The coroner’s report concluded that one of the major factors that contributed to Saagar’s death was a failure to assess his risk of suicide in more detail, give more consideration to a referral to secondary care and discuss the same with his father, given Saagar’s Patient Health Questionnaire 9 score was the highest possible, 27/27, two weeks before he died.

Risk assessment for suicide is an inexact science. There are no blood tests or x-rays that can give us useful and precise information.

PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionaire 9) is a validated screening and monitoring tool for depression. A score of more than 20 reflects severe depression. If Saagar had severe anaemia, hypertension, asthma or epilepsy would he have been sent home with a few pills that take 3-4 weeks to work? It is clear that even within the medical community the ability to approach mental illness in the same way as physical illness is limited.

As opposed to specialist training which takes seven years, GP training takes three years. GP trainees can successfully complete

“EVEN WITHIN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY THE ABILITY TO APPROACH MENTAL ILLNESS IN THE SAME WAY AS PHYSICAL ILLNESS IS LIMITED.”

“TO MY UTTER HORROR AND DISMAY HE WENT ON TO SAY, ‘SUICIDES ARE UNPREDICTABLE AND UNPREVENTABLE.’” their training without having any psychiatric training. Considering one in four of their patients will present with a mental illness, are they well equipped to look after them?

There is evidence that Suicide Prevention Courses made available to GPs in England would not only save lives but also result in net savings of over £500 million after one year and considerable further savings over the longer term.

Hence there is a strong moral and financial case for suicide prevention training for GPs. CPR training (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) is mandatory for all doctors and medical students because it is known to save lives.

Suicide Prevention Training also saves lives and should therefore be mandatory for students and professionals of all medical disciplines. Unfortunately not many doctors have so much as heard of it.

PAPYRUS Member Dr Sangeeta Mahajan is a Consultant Anaesthetist at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

References and Related articles References

Related Articles

1. T he Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) http://www.cqaimh.org/pdf/tool_phq9.pdf 2. N o health without mental health http://www.mhpf.org.uk/resources/legislationand-guidance/no-health-without-mental-healtha-cross-government-mental-health3. M ental health promotion and mental illness prevention: The economic case http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/32311/1/Knapp_et_al__ MHPP_The_Economic_Case.pdf

4. The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/11854612/ Im-a-doctor-but-that-didnt-save-my-son-fromsuicide.html 5. Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/sangeetamahajan/suicide-the-silent-epidemic_b_8904102. html

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Laura, one of our Lead Volunteers on the Suicide Safer Communities Project, writes about her experience…

Before becoming involved with PAPYRUS, I was a helpline volunteer for Anxiety UK. A lot of young people who were calling the helpline were feeling suicidal and I wanted to feel better equipped to support these individuals. So I was really keen to get involved with the Suicide Safer Communities project, the first part of which was going on the ASIST training. It was great that I was trained before the project began. I felt that this gave me those core skills and an insight into the signs a person may display when they’re feeling suicidal and how to intervene using the Pathway to Assisting Life model. It was a really powerful course.

The more involved I became in the project, the more ideas I had to deliver suicide safer prevention activities in my community. I came up with an idea for the beer mat, and my boyfriend, Sam, designed it on the computer.

We printed 300 to begin with, and a small group of volunteers helped distribute them in bars and cafes around Manchester. We had a great reaction from the public! Recently, an individual rang HOPELineUK, and when asked how he found out about PAPYRUS, he explained he saw the beer mat.

Stories like these make you realise that you are making a HUGE difference and helping to save lives! To date, over 2,000 have been distributed across the UK. 14

I think a lot of young people think that it’s the be all and end all if something goes wrong – like a friendship or relationship breaking down. We need to get the message out that these are normal things which can happen in life and it is possible to tackle them, so that young people don’t feel suicide is their only option

£20 can pay for one 20 minute call to help a young person in distress overcome their pain and stay safe

I also created a small volunteers network within my University. Twenty-five volunteers joined to begin with and then Abbi, a psychology student, became the other area Young Lead Volunteer for Manchester and joined the project, which was fantastic! Together we have set up an official PAPYRUS Society at The University of Manchester, with over 100 students signing up at the Fresher’s Fair.

The PAPYRUS conference in London was the first one I attended, but unfortunately there weren’t many young people there. It’s crucial that we change this. I think a lot of young people think it’s the be all and end all if something goes wrong – like a friendship or relationship breaking down. We need to get the message out that these are normal things which can happen in life and it is possible to tackle them, so that young people don’t feel suicide is their only option. It’s also important to highlight that suicide is the leading cause of death in young women as well as in men, something which I will be thinking about on International Women’s Day on the 8th of March this year.

Being part of PAPYRUS and the Suicide Safer Communities project has enabled me to become more confident and in control of my own well-being through the emphasis placed on self-care. This has helped me recognise the importance

of balancing all the things that I do, for example my work, studies and volunteering. I am now a lot more in control of my own wellbeing. Self-care is about taking time out for yourself and recognising that actually you need to treat yourself, you need a rest, you need some ‘you’ time.

In the past I always tried to do everything at once; I think PAPYRUS really reinforced for me that you can take a break. Now I go out and enjoy myself – it’s just the balance in life that you need.

ow I go out and enjoy myself n – it’s just that balance in life that you need 15

Connecting in everyday spaces Tom Chapman, Founder of Barber Talk, introduces the Lions Barber Collective

The Lions Barber Collective is a group of international barbers helping to raise awareness of suicide prevention and mental health, founded in September 2015. What started as a comment made on a Barbering Facebook group rapidly grew beyond anything we had imagined.

We are working closely alongside PAPYRUS to develop our #BarberTalk initiative in 2016, which aims to create a safe place for people to talk about their feelings, issues and problems.

We want to train barbers to be able to Recognise, Talk, Listen and Advise their clientele. With the trust that already exists between a between a barber and client, the Lions feel there is a huge opportunity to take advantage of this relationship to help people take that first step to find help. Our aim is to smash the stigma around suicide and mental health, so that talking about it will come freely and naturally to the next generation.

This year we will be attending many industry events such as Barber Connect at Celtic Manor on 26th-27th June, all four of the Great British Barber Bash Events around England, Ireland and Scotland, as well as The Secret Garden Party Festival. For more details see our website: www.thelionsbarberscollective.com

On 19 November 2015, the UK parliament debated male suicide on International Men’s Day

Editor’s note: this is a great initiative primarily geared at male suicide – but it’s important we recognise that suicide is the leading cause of death in young women, too.

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Follow them on Twitter and Facebook! @TheLionsBarbers #TLXBC #BarberTalk

BEHIND THE HEADLINES Press Officer Rosemary Vaux reflects on a decade with PAPYRUS Ten years ago I was invited by the founding Trustees to look at opportunities to raise the charity’s profile through media channels. They had achieved some excellent articles but recognised the need to accelerate awareness.

Despite years promoting products and services from international blue chip companies to small charities, I felt this would prove my greatest challenge. I knew how to engage media: but to encourage talk about suicide: was that not a little scary?

I was new to mental health. It was a fast learning curve. I needed journalists onside to help smash public stigma; many as unaware of the extent of young suicide as I had been. I began to engage interest by highlighting the statistics – after all media love stats. We began to gain momentum, accelerated with news of our internet safety campaign, and a YouGov survey supporting our call for law change.

We were making headlines as news broke of multiple young suicides around

STOP PRESS:

We are pleased to report that following publication on 4th February of the ONS Suicides in the UK 2014 registrations, we gained high profile comment in national press and broadcast media. For the first time child suicide statistics were included – see our statement ‘Child suicide – the hidden reality revealed’ at: www.papyrus-uk. org/news. In addition, during the recent BBC Mental Health Week our team contributed to 10 regional broadcasts.

Bridgend. Soon there was media frenzy.

Interview requests were overwhelming.

Young suicides increased. Our Trustees called for a blackout. I was stunned: turning down media opportunities is anathema to a publicist. There was some criticism, but it provided the opportunity to encourage sensitive reporting, collaborating with Ofcom, the Press Complaints Commission and now its successor IPSO. It remains a key priority today. Media awareness grew. Now journalists often recognise PAPYRUS as the leader in young suicide. But there is much more to do to capture the wealth of opportunity that I believe in.

But I am merely the messenger. It is everyone who makes up PAPYRUS, from staff to our dedicated volunteers and fundraisers, and above all, the very many who have helped others by sharing the loss of loved ones, that has inspired journalists to support our work and keep preventing young suicide on the nation’s agenda.

“NOW JOURNALISTS OFTEN RECOGNISE PAPYRUS AS THE LEADER IN YOUNG SUICIDE.” 17

Building suicide safer communities Our regional work enables young people to be leaders in their community, with projects across the UK. Project Lead and Community Outreach Worker Michelle Kelly reports on one, funded by Cheshire Community Foundation.

Suicide Safer Communities for Young People is all about empowering our volunteers to lead suicide prevention activities in their communities. As part of this project, we engaged with organisations and communities from across Cheshire East and Cheshire West, Chester and Warrington, delivering over 20 sessions and directly engaging with over 300 young people.

In reaching out to some of the youngest people in these communities, aged around 11 years, we found that they became really motivated to carry out suicide prevention activities. Many of the young people’s teachers and youth workers who were also involved in the project told us that the information we shared with them would directly impact their role.

The project was extremely successful – we were delighted that 94.5% of the young people who came along to a session said that they felt they were now more aware of the issue of suicide. Before the sessions, only a quarter would have told someone if they 18

“94.5% OF THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO CAME ALONG TO A SESSION SAID THAT THEY FELT THEY WERE NOW MORE AWARE OF THE ISSUE OF SUICIDE.” were having thoughts of suicide, whereas afterwards this rose to over half. This is a fantastic step in the right direction – though it demonstrates there is still work to do to encourage young people to reach out for help.

We’d like to say a big thank you to Cheshire Community Foundation for its support, with whom we are exploring further work. Our project video can be viewed on our website, do have a look: www.papyrus-uk.org

YOUNG PEOPLE’S CHAMPIONS Louise Bloomfield, Suicide Prevention Advisor and Trainer, writes about our Young People’s Champions Forum in Birmingham, funded by the SCHUH Community Trust.

Our aim was to empower young people between the ages of 18 and 34 to volunteer as PAPYRUS Young People’s Champions. Each Champion was trained in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) before taking part in monthly planning and team building forums. With ongoing support, the Champions have delivered a whole host of creative and inspiring suicide prevention activities within their communities. These have included: distributing HOPELineUK information at a local gym, organising college cake sales, running PAPYRUS stands, forging links with universities and colleges, and organising

15 young strangers from completely different backgrounds came together on one issue and within a year achieved not only a pretty awesome event and loads of suicide prevention activities, but have made friendships and bonds that will stretch well beyond this project.

a group to walk in the Birmingham LGBT Pride Parade wearing PAPYRUS t-shirts and carrying a PAPYRUS banner – seen by 75,000 people!

Alongside all of this wonderful work, the Forum was tasked with creating an innovative city-wide marketing campaign to help raise the profile of suicide prevention and wellbeing amongst its peers. The group generated loads of ideas before voting for the favourite: Turn Birmingham Purple! On World Suicide Prevention Day on 10th September, our Champions encouraged the people of Birmingham to wear something purple and started city-wide conversations about young suicide. With 45.7% of Birmingham residents estimated to be under the age of 30, the event gathered momentum and support across the city, with organisations and individuals sharing selfies of their purple activities online with the hashtags #turnbrumpurple and #saveyounglives.

Our Champions are now keen to continue to build on their achievements.

Stacey Overton – Volunteer

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Supporter news and activities Tweet us at: @PAPYRUS_tweets or email fundraising@papyrus-uk.org

If you’d like to make a monthly donation to our work, click the ‘Donate’ button on our website. Eighty pence of every pound you give goes directly towards to helping young people in crisis.

Dennis Graham – Raising awareness in schools and colleges or has lost somebody to suicide. My talks do draw upon the loss of my 17 year old son but are more focused on statistics and promoting the charity, and crucially how to notice the signs and properly explain the thought process behind somebody who is having suicidal thoughts. I am lucky enough to have had my talks covered by ITV calendar, BBC TV, The Hull Daily Mail and many radio stations, such as Humberside and BBC Radio 5 Live.

My target by the end of 2016 is to have reached 5,000 students. I have already had schools ’phoning me this month to book me in for assemblies this year – and we have two schools booked in for the next couple of months for over 1,200 students!

Since I began my first suicide awareness talks in schools across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire in January 2014, I have been to nine different schools, sixth forms and colleges, reaching nearly 1,200 students to date, leaving behind PAPYRUS posters, cards and wristbands.

Each time I visit I am met by an overwhelmingly kind and respectful response and most times I have had emotional students stay behind to talk to me, thank me for coming in or even shake my hand or give me a hug! I am almost always asked to stay behind to talk to a young pupil who is either having suicidal thoughts 20

Dennis with his daughter Sophie

London School of Economics (LSE) Students’ Union James Wurr LSESU RAG President says: “Everyone here at RAG is very pleased to be working with PAPYRUS… at a high pressure university like LSE, treating young suicide and mental illness is a serious issue and one we feel we can help tackle by providing PAPYRUS with a platform on campus.”

HOPEWalk 2016 will be returning this year bigger than ever in October. Keep an eye out for updates and please contact us if you want to take part.

Savills Country Department Team have chosen PAPYRUS as their charity of the year. We are thrilled that they hope to play a big part in this year’s HOPEWalk!

London School of Economics (LSE) Students’ Union has chosen PAPYRUS as its national charity this academic year, and have already raised over £13k!

Save the date: our AGM will be in Birmingham on 2nd July. Roadshow events – dates and locations to be confirmed soon! Keep an eye on our website: papyrus-uk.org

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SUPPORTER NEWS AND ACTIVITIES

A big thank you to all of our wonderful fundraisers and supporters.

Although we can’t include everyone here, we always enjoy seeing your updates, photos and videos – Tweet us @PAPYRUS_tweets or email fundraising@papyrus-uk.org. Keep an eye on our website as we will soon be introducing a new webpage to promote the work of our fundraisers and supporters!

London Marathon This year we have four fantastic runners taking part – Adam Smith, Isabel Thompson, Chris Thompson and Charlie Paton. All are doing wonderful work to fundraise and raise awareness. We shall be taking a team of people to support the runners on the day, so keep an eye out for our banners on the TV coverage!

Kate held a Harvest Ball in memory of her brother Rob Chapman and raised over £9,000

Andrea Hopwood completed her Couch to 30k Challenge in 2015

Get Involved 2016 We have places available on this year’s British and Manchester 10k runs, as well as the NightriderTM Bristol, Liverpool and London events. Dust off those trainers, throw on your running vest and help us to save young lives!

If you’d like more information contact: fundraising@papyrus-uk.org

“ In February 2014 I heard the news that my childhood best friend had taken her own life, less than a month after her 29th birthday…. I decided to keep motivated by challenging myself to run 30km of events in her memory in the year she would be turning 30 years old… fingers crossed I can reach my goal and continue to support PAPYRUS to prevent more beautiful Alex Paske’s Tractor Selfie Campaign has gone global young lives being lost – reaching as far afield as New Zealand, the USA and to suicide” South Africa 22

HOPEWalk 2015 raised an incredible £11,000 – thanks to all of you who walked up and down the country. Here is James Pope’s team from Merseyside

The team Ride4Rob cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats in memory of Rob Chapman, raising over £18,000

Running legend John Kane has so far run 124 miles in his PAPYRUS running vest and is now training for the Snowdonia Marathon

Pamela Solley organised a surfing competition in Cornwall

Once again Jack Smith organised a fantastic annual ball – this year’s theme was Willy Wonka!

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WE ARE THE NATIONAL CHARITY FOR THE PREVENTION OF YOUNG SUICIDE

Suicide is the main cause of death in young people - both male and female

- in the UK under the age of 35

In 2014

1,556

597

UNDER THE AGE OF 35 young people

BETWEEN THE AGES OF 10 AND 24

took their own lives

Three quarters of them were

boys or young men

the number of suicides

75% of young suicides were

unknown to mental

health services in the year before their death

Suicide attempts are between 40-100

times greater than the number of suicides

NEARLY

100 CHILDREN

between the ages of 10 and 14 have taken their own lives in the last decade

The featured statistics are from Living Works Education and the Office of National Statistics

We believe that many young suicides can be prevented.

There is help and hope. HOPELineUK 0800 068 41 41