Sometimes the hardest words to say are the most important.
World Suicide Prevention Day was established in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO). The 10th September each year aims to focus attention on the issue, reduces stigma and raises awareness among organizations, governments, and the public, giving a singular message that suicides are preventable.
A recent poll found that only 45% of people feel comfortable talking to family and friends about suicidal thoughts, compared to 74% who said they feel comfortable talking about mental health.
World Suicide Prevention Day wants to help change this. By talking more openly about suicide, we can give people the chance to express how they feel and get the support they need. It could even save a life.
At GC, we want to show all colleagues that talking about difficult feelings, including suicidal thoughts, doesn’t have to be scary.
Continuous Learning
Take a look at some of the support and resources which are available to colleagues through PAL:
- Let’s Talk Suicide Bitesize course (10-minute online course)
- Suicide Awareness Training (30-minute online course)
-
Suicide Prevention ‘Smart Safeguarding Seminar’
This is one of our new SMART20 sessions. It’s on Tuesday 10th September between 11am-12pm.
It will look at signs and symptoms to look out for, how to discuss a disclosure of suicide ideation, where to signpost and appropriate avenues of signposting and when to escalate a concern to Ambulance or Police when working with the new RPRC Framework.
You can join this virtual session using this Teams Meeting link.
Additional support and resources
You can also check out these additional resources:
- The Samaritans Suicide Awareness and Support Listening Wheel
- Zero Suicide Alliance 3 Steps to Prevent Suicide
- The Samaritans Suicide Awareness and Support Little Tips
Remember that, for support you can access our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), delivered by Health Assured, who are available 24/7 to give free, confidential advice on a range of issues to you and your immediate family.
Our GC Mental Health First Aiders are also on-hand if you need them. They're practically trained to give support at a time of crisis or act as a point of contact, reassurance and guidance to any GC colleague - when it is needed. The role of a MHFA is not to give ongoing support or counselling to individuals, if you do access the MHFA service, you will be encouraged to contact professional services for any long-term needs.
If you're interested in upskilling around suicide prevention, take a look at this Awareness Training which is specifically designed to support people from the autistic community.