West Yorkshire Suicide Prevention campaign calls for new champions - could you help save a life?

The head and neck of a person with a lighter skin tone is on the left of the image, standing in front of a brick wall. They are facing the viewer and have long dark hair in a plait over their left shoulder, wear a burgundy hat or hood and dark rimmed glasses. They are staring seriously at the camera. The text says: Safe a life, talk about suicide. Learn how you can help to tackle stigma and save lives. It’s quick and free to register. Become a Suicide Prevention Champion with the URL suicidepreventionwestyorkshire.co.uk/becomeachampion. There is also the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership and West Yorkshire Suicide Prevention Champion logos. — From the West Yorkshire Suicide Prevention Champions Toolkit

Do you believe suicide is preventable? Would you know how to talk to someone about suicidal thoughts or feelings they may be having?

For World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September, the MindWell team completed suicide awareness training from ZSA (Zero Suicide Alliance). Team members have also become West Yorkshire Suicide Prevention Champions and pledged to promote suicide prevention at home, in the community or at work.

West Yorkshire has a higher suicide rate than England as a whole, so the West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership launched a campaign urging everyone to play a part in helping to lower the suicide rate by taking an active role in challenging stigma and raising awareness.

“…there are ways that we can all help people who are feeling suicidal.”
MindWell team member

Take the training

People across West Yorkshire are being encouraged to sign up as Suicide Prevention Champions and join the effort to reduce the area’s suicide rate.

As the MindWell team found, it doesn’t take long to watch a video about the campaign and complete the ZSA training, and learn about key actions like ‘See’, ‘Say’, ‘Signpost’. By undertaking the 20 minute suicide awareness training you’ll gain skills and confidence to help someone who may be considering suicide.

What we thought

We recommend having someone to check in with after the training, as suicide is an emotive subject and can bring up difficult thoughts or feelings. After working through the interactive training activities, our team met to talk through the learning. We all thought it was helpful:

“I found it very useful in what to look out for and how to talk and act.”

“…there are ways that we can all help people who are feeling suicidal.”

“…it was such an important issue to learn about. Particularly being prepared, knowing where to signpost people to and the language we should and shouldn’t use.”

“It felt a difficult subject to start with, but seeing people share their experiences really helped. I feel more confident about talking to others about how they’re feeling now.”

“I’d seen the statistics, but the training really brought the message home. It was very moving to hear from people who’ve struggled with suicidal thoughts or have lost someone they love. If I think someone is struggling, I won’t tell myself ‘it’s not my business’; I’ll ask how they are and if they want to talk.”

Quotes from MindWell team members

Become a Champion

Following the steps on the Suicide Prevention Champion pages is straightforward and could potentially save the life of a friend, relative, colleague or someone you’ve not met before. Knowing the signs and being able to have a conversation are skills we can learn.

If you decide to become a Suicide Prevention Champion, you can pledge how you will take action to challenge stigma, raise awareness and promote suicide awareness.

“I’d seen the statistics, but the training really brought the message home. It was very moving to hear from people who’ve struggled with suicidal thoughts or have lost someone they love. If I think someone is struggling, I won’t tell myself ‘it’s not my business’; I’ll ask how they are and if they want to talk.”
MindWell team member

This could mean:

spreading the word about the ZSA training and becoming a Suicide Prevention Champion
sharing leaflets and posters about mental health support in your local area or at work
taking further training, such as Mental Health First Aid, SafeTALK or Asist
volunteering with groups or services supporting people’s mental health
becoming an anti-stigma champion
learning to talk about suicide in a hopeful, respectful way and encouraging others to do the same

If you do decide to become a Suicide Prevention Champion, you will have access to the latest suicide prevention news, resources, support services and information to help spread the word and encourage action. Find more information and sign up on the West Yorkshire Suicide Prevention website.

Find out more

West Yorkshire Suicide Prevention campaign calls for new champions – could you help save a life?

Take the training

What we thought

Become a Champion

More useful resources and links

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