“The Suicide Prevention Pocket Guidebook”

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Our founder and CEO has written a new book which is available from most booksellers (including Waterstones and WH Smith) from 2nd September. Links to buy the book are below.

The Suicide Prevention Pocket Guidebook: How To Support Someone Who Is Having Suicidal Feelings is full of strategies to help you support a family member, friend or work colleague in a suicidal crisis. Professionals working with people in crisis are finding the book equally helpful.

The book is available from most booksellers including Waterstones, WH Smith, Amazon and Blackwell’s. 

Available from WH Smith: WH Smith: Suicide Prevention Pocket Guidebook

and from Amazon: Amazon: Suicide Prevention Pocket Guidebook

Our face to face services continue during lockdown

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It is very important that we go out to see clients at home, when they are at immediate risk of suicide: a mental health emergency. We have always provided a combination of Suicide Crisis Centres (a safe place for clients to visit) and home visits.

We are still providing this during lockdown. This is an image (filmed before the Covid-19 crisis) of a BBC 6 O’ Clock news piece which focused on our Suicide Crisis Centre and how we respond to emergency situations.

 

Our crisis services remain available during COVID-19 lockdown

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We are continuing to provide suicide crisis services during the COVID-19 lockdown. We are documenting the impact on our clients of the national crisis.

In March we were approached by The Express newspaper, asking our opinion about who is most at risk of mental health crisis and suicide during the COVID-19 crisis. Our CEO’s opinions were captured in a article on the 26th March:

The Express: “Coronavirus Mental Health Warning: Expert reveals key demographic most at risk”:  https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1260764/coronavirus-suicide-latest-elderly-people-isolation-news-suicide-crisis-spt

In April, The Telegraph published an article about the comments of our CEO regarding the use of war-like language to describe the response to COVID-19. She explained how it can deter people in mental health crisis from seeking help:

The Telegraph: “Warlike talk of Covid-19 battle could shame people into avoiding NHS, charity warns”                    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/27/warlike-talk-covid-19-battle-could-shame-people-avoiding-nhs/

In June, an article about our Suicide Crisis Centre was featured in The Metro newspaper: “What it’s like to work in a suicide crisis centre during the pandemic”. It explains why we have continued to offer face to face support to people at high risk of suicide.

The Metro: “What it’s like to work in a suicide crisis centre during the pandemic”:

What it’s like to work in a suicide crisis centre during the pandemic

Our “Saving Lives” blog website: a new learning resource

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The new “Saving Lives” blog website features articles written by Joy, the founder and CEO of Suicide Crisis. It includes new articles, as well as some of her articles featured in national newspapers including “Men and suicide: what they are telling us about the kind of care they need”, “Please don’t call us difficult to engage” and “Ellie’s story: why we need to treat addiction and mental illness together” (on page 3 of the blog website).

“Please don’t call us difficult to engage” has been used as a learning resource in training events for mental health professionals in different parts of the UK. It has attracted the comment “Every clinician should read this”. This is the link to the website: https://www.savinglives.blog/

National and local awards for our team

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Joy, our Founder and CEO, was named in the Independent newspaper’s “Happy List” 2019. The list is “an antidote to awards that celebrate wealth or celebrity”. The Happy List celebrates people in the UK who “give rather than take”. Everyone on the list is ranked equally, and Joy was listed in particular for kindness.

And locally, our Allan Fawlk was awarded Volunteer of the Year at the “Pride of the Cotswolds” 2019 awards, which was organised by local newspapers. Allan is a support worker, accompanying our team members on emergency home visits to our clients.

New Zealand: How our work is supporting suicide prevention work on the other side of the world

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In June we were contacted by a senior project manager from the Ministry of Health in New Zealand. She is leading on their new national suicide prevention strategy. She explained that she had read Joy’s book about our work, had shared it among her colleagues at the Ministry, and wanted to learn more, to assist them as they develop their new strategy.

Further phone and email contact has taken place and Joy has been able to provide detailed information about our work. She has subsequently received an email from the Ministry which commends the work of Suicide Crisis, and describes it as inspiring. In the email, they asked Joy to reflect on the fact that the work of Suicide Crisis “is supporting other work across the world”.

Hilary from our team is named “most inspiring woman in the charitable sector” in the south west for 2019

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We are delighted to announce that Hilary Rawles, one of our most experienced team members, has been named “most inspiring woman in the charitable sector” in the south west for 2019 by regional newspapers. She won the award for her work which was described as “life-saving and far beyond the call of duty”:

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/business/top-women-in-south-west-2879551

New Year Honour For Our Founder

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The founder of Suicide Crisis, Joy Hibbins, was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s New Year Honours list 2019, for services to vulnerable people. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/3177786

Prior to this, in November, she was awarded the Janey Antoniou Award “for an outstanding contribution to addressing stigma and improving the lives of people affected by mental illness”.