Towards Zero Suicide CIC

#LanguageMatters when talking about #suicide and #SuicidePrevention And nowhere does it matter more than when talking about suicide with those who are in a suicide crisis. Of course, it is also important to get the language 'right' when talking about suicide and suicide prevention with any vulnerable person, or person in a vulnerable situation, including those who have experienced losing a loved one to suicide, especially recently. Also when speaking with children about suicide and suicide loss. Then there is added weight to any conversation when advocating or campaigning around suicide prevention because the language needs to be suitably sensitive whilst also being designed to have 'impact' in effecting change. It can sometimes seem like a trade-off, eg a 'hard-hitting' or 'in your face' campaign to try and 'shock' people in positions of power and influence into taking action but knowing, through its high public profile, it will be seen by other people, including those bereaved by suicide and those who are currently struggling, including those experiencing a suicide crisis right now. And there are a lot of myths about someone 'experiencing a suicide crisis' including that this is a short moment in time, which leads people to use what can be inappropriate phrases like 'a permanent solution to a temporary problem'... ...because some people experience long-term, recurring crisis situations, as well as long-term pain,... ...and some people agonise for days or weeks about ending their life and can be in a 'trance-like state' for an extended period or periods. #TowardsZeroSuicide CIC Founder Paul Vittles has carried out #research among people who have experienced a suicide crisis or multiple crises, as part of his ongoing research into appropriate language in different contexts - from everyday conversations to educational talks for different audiences to campaigning for action, eg from government or employers. One result of this research is that some words or phrases can be seen as kind and helpful to those who are not currently in crisis but these same words or phrases can be received as unkind, uncaring, and unhelpful by those currently in crisis... ...and can even actually be harmful! So, it's even more important to get that language 'right' in this context. What we say can even be, literally, a matter of life or death! This summary article gives a lot of insight into the nuance. https://lnkd.in/eSDzDAqt Please also bear in mind that every one-to-one communication must be tailored to that individual and the individual circumstances. This article is more focused on broadcast communication, although mass communication is of course a mass of individual impacts which the broadcaster has a responsibility for as well as the collective impact.

Towards Zero Suicide CIC was set up to be 100% dedicated to the #TransformationalChange challenge of getting the (UK) #suicide numbers on a downward trend #TowardsZeroSuicide... ...by working with collaborative partners who share the same vision and values - where we're trying to get to, what we want to achieve, the best way to fulfil the vision, the 'right' way to deliver it - and, very importantly, collaborative partners who share the same high level of ambition. We want to create and sustain a #ZeroSuicideSociety "that is willing and able to do all it can to prevent all preventable suicides". "To prevent all preventable suicides" has to be the ambition! How can we settle for anything less?! And it has to be a whole-of-society approach to be able to achieve our shared, ambitious goal. Although suicide discriminates in that some groups in society, and some areas of the country, have significantly higher suicide rates than others... 1) Anyone can be affected by suicide and 2) Everyone can help prevent suicides - you, your family & friends, your community, your colleagues; your councillors, your MP; already active #SuicidePrevention advocates & campaigners; and people who are not currently active in trying to prevent suicides but could be. You can become active yourself and you can help activate others. You can educate yourself and help educate others. Only 6% of the UK population has ever done any suicide prevention #training! If you haven't, you can, inc the free, 20 mins, online Zero Suicide Alliance #SuicideAwareness course And you can promote it to others. As Towards Zero Suicide CIC Founder Paul Vittles highlights in this review of the past 16 months - from July 2023, when a petition to parliament was launched for the measures needed to get the suicide numbers down, to Nov 2024 - there are many people & organisations committed to this cause and active, every day, in trying to get the suicide numbers down... ...as Paul calls them, those who work 'in the #SuicideReduction business (not just suicide prevention)'... and, sadly, there are also people, organisations & institutions, inc Govt with a large G & govt with a small g - even some of those people & organisations claiming to be trying to help - actually creating barriers to change. Even though it's largely unintended consequences of their actions, or the inevitable consequences of their inaction, the adverse impact is the same - it prevents us from getting the suicide numbers on a downward trend, towards zero suicide. Please read Paul's review, give us your thoughts, give us your ideas on how you think we can make breakthroughs in getting the suicide numbers down... ...and please get in touch (via Paul) if you share the same values, vision & ambition, and you think you can help create a Zero Suicide Society and get these numbers down. https://lnkd.in/eVnWCmBY

Listening to people bereaved by #suicide talking about the loved ones they've lost too soon can be very painful, it can be heartbreaking... ...but it can also be beautiful, therapeutic, uplifting, and heartwarming. And we should all take note, or remind ourselves if we already know this, that helping people cope with traumatic loss is #SuicidePrevention as well, because anyone who's experienced #SuicideBereavement, or any form of traumatic loss, has a heightened risk of ending their own lives, without the right support around them and without finding ways to move forward with their lives. This short film (21 mins - well worth setting aside quiet time to listen attentively) features people who made squares for the Hampshire & Isle of Wight #SpeakTheirNameQuilt, a #MemorialQuilt remembering people lost to suicide made by people bereaved by suicide. There are many of these quilts - and other wonderful community co-creations to memorialise people we've lost - all around the UK and all around the world. The #Hampshire & #IsleOfWight Quilt is a fine example of the genre. And this is without doubt one of the very best videos/short films we've seen helping people 'tell their stories' and #SpeakTheirName Well done to all involved. It's very sensitively made, and a high quality production, as well as helping us all get to know the beautiful people who brought joy during their shortened lives, and who live on in our memories, in our hearts, in all the ways we choose to remember them... ...and in glorious memorial quilts... ...and in videos like this! https://lnkd.in/eVsVasDD #bereavement #grief #trauma #ZeroSuicideSociety #TowardsZeroSuicide

Please support in any way you can to help tackle systemic #injustice, #discrimination & #bullying, driving a young man to #suicide... ...and to help these grieving parents who are in desperate circumstances right now with a live Inquest and without the financial resources they need, whilst the institutions which caused or contributed to Anu's death have legal teams funded by the taxpayer! It's injustice upon injustice, and yet more preventable pain on top of the preventable pain and suffering this family has already had to endure. We know many of those following this Towards Zero Suicide CIC page have first-hand experience of the pain of suicide bereavement, and also going through an Inquest, although not necessarily a 'disputed case' as Anu's family are experiencing...and everyone's loss experience is unique of course. Towards Zero Suicide CIC Founder Paul Vittles met with Anu's parents, Amar and Sonia, on World #SuicidePrevention Day in #Bury and their suffering was all too visible but the large gathering around them and support at The Big Fandango, after the walk through town and remembrance service, also visibly lifted their spirits. Sadly, they now have to bear the financial burden of the Inquest's legal costs. Also very sadly, there've been no further pledges to their crowd justice fund in the past 24 hours - still standing at £14,560 of the £60,000 required to cover their legal costs. We know that other bereaved families have crowdfunded their legal costs, eg Ruth Perry's family, and we're hoping that through sharing this fund site now, we can help Anu's family. Please forward/share/circulate the link to the Crowd Justice page: https://lnkd.in/eyZeFUfh Please engage with this post to help prompt donations. And please donate personally if you can. Thank you

Just checking that everyone has seen this brilliant (7 mins) video with highlights of the #ZeroSuicideSociety Humber-to-Mersey #JoinTheDotsTour at The Baths Hall Scunthorpe on Wed 12 June 2024? And have you shared it in your networks and feeds, including doing a dedicated LinkedIn post featuring it? It's very close to 1,000 views on YouTube, which is extremely high for a conference highlights video. 100-300 views is more typical. That's testament to both the quality of the event itself and the quality of the video made for us - pro bono to support our #SuicidePrevention cause - by Garry Lynch of #BearMedia Sharing the video with your connections will: > help push it over the 1,000 mark, and beyond; > help spread the word about the problem we're trying to solve here; > help give hope and confidence by emphasising we know what practical actions will get the suicide numbers on a downward trend #TowardsZeroSuicide; and > help to showcase Garry's professional expertise that was so generously gifted to us on this occasion. Btw - Garry has recently invested in a drone camera so if you need footage from the air, he's your man! And he's gloriously good on the ground too! The Launch Conference at The Baths Hall is worth shouting about for many reasons but here's just three: 1) it was the greatest breadth of coverage of the different factors causing or contributing to suicide for any suicide prevention conference as far as we're aware (before or since). Sadly, historically, the emphasis tends to be on #health issues and the #healthcare system, but we covered #schools #universities & the #education system, #workplaces, safe supportive spaces in the community, #DomesticAbuse, systemic #injustice & #discrimination, #TechForGood solutions, etc 2) for each 'piece of the puzzle' (in terms of the problems and the solutions), we invited the top 'professional experts' and the recognised 'experts by personal lived or living experiences of suicide' and we had an unprecedented 90% acceptance rate to our invitations; 3) the Launch Conference broke new ground because, in stark contrast to the horrendous historical habit of 'the token #LivedExperience speaker', we had 2 in 3 of our speakers and panellists with lived or living experiences of suicide...including several people who were on the stage at a suicide prevention conference for the very first time. Surely that's worth shouting about?! And it helped launch our pioneering #JoinTheDotsTour which was a huge collaborative partnership success across the Humber-to-Mersey route (see link in comments below to the 17-mins Tour film which was further generous genius work from Garry). https://lnkd.in/e6YgS-c4

The film of the #ZeroSuicideSociety Humber-to-Mersey #JoinTheDotsTour, 11-23 June 2024, which was made for us so expertly by Garry Lynch of #BearMedia, has now had more than 600 views on YouTube... ...which is very high for a film of this nature; on a subject like #Suicide & #SuicidePrevention; with it being a pioneering Tour organised & promoted by a new Community Interest Company (Towards Zero Suicide CIC!); and being 17 mins in length! We now have a Special Edition which Garry has made for us. Why? 1) We had some incredible young talent performing for us on our final day of the Tour at the #Liverpool #ArtsBar - for our 'Voices of Hope Concert with Reflections'. We wanted to have an edit of the film which had a primary focus on showcasing them, inc: > the extraordinary band of 15/16 yr olds #SoliceOfSound c/o the wonderful Sean's Place (their base); > the fantastic #rapper Liam Cook aka LBC, drawing from his own struggles with #MentalHealth and exposure to suicide crisis & loss; > the stunningly good performance #poet Joseph Roberts who's since launched #AllEarsPoetry Top #music and top #SpokenWord performances! 2) We wanted it to be a showcase for the final day of the Tour - with the iconic, symbolic 'Hope Gathering in Hope Street' which Towards Zero Suicide CIC Founder Paul Vittles had been planning as a concept for almost 3 years and had organised the detail via a trip to Liverpool earlier this year where he stayed in the glorious hope street hotel and received the most magnificent hospitality and support from Jan Morris 3) We wanted to give another big shout out to Debbie Rogers who supported the Tour by hosting a brilliant event at Sean's Place on the evening of Friday 21 June (inc the #ChoirOfHope - check the very end of the video!); gave us Sean's Band & Solice of Sound for the Arts Bar Concert; and delivered a superb speech on our Arts Bar stage. 4) We wanted to create another opportunity for people to see & hear the lovely, lyrical Suzanne Baines and our other great #LivedExperience speakers - Ellie P. Nina Jo Smith Maggie Abrahart + a slightly extended version of the beautiful talk from Ellie MacDonald who spoke for us in Hope Street just after launching her new CIC HelloHope Yes, there was a lot of #hope in Hope Street that day on Sunday 23 June! Finally, we trimmed the length to 13 mins, as we know many more people will watch a '13 mins video' than a '17 mins short film'!!! Please share this Special Edition in your networks and via your online business & social media - LinkedIn, Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, etc: > to promote these wonderful young talents; > to thank all those who made the ZeroSuicideSociety JoinTheDotsTour such a huge success; > to help raise awareness about suicide among a wider audience, outside 'the suicide prevention community bubble'. And please also circulate it in music networks too - it's got a great soundtrack! https://lnkd.in/eDVZ86Gj

The UK National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA) has published a summary about the #ZeroSuicideSociety Humber-to-Mersey JoinTheDotsTour on its website. It's a short summary and now a useful reference with ready access to the links for the: > highlights video (7 mins) from the ground-breaking Launch Conference at The Baths Hall in #Scunthorpe on Wed 12 June 2024 > short film of the pioneering Tour (17 mins) with highlights of the gatherings across the M62 Corridor, plus extended coverage of the amazing final day in #Liverpool on Sun 23 June 2024, including the iconic 'Hope Gathering in Hope Street' and the 'Voices of Hope Concert with Reflections' at the Liverpool Arts Bar Both the Launch Conference video and the Tour Film were filmed, edited & produced by Garry Lynch of Bear Media. > post-Tour report responding to key support needs identified by those working in #SuicidePrevention who we met across the Tour - focusing on 'the business case' for investing in suicide prevention and how to vastly expand the number of people who've taken suicide prevention #training, which is currently a woefully low 6% of the UK population! This excellent piece on the NSPA website also adds value, in line with NSPA policy, by including a summary of lessons learned and 'tips' for anyone thinking of organising such a Tour in their area. A Tour like this is a huge commitment, it's complex, it involves spinning many plates, and it has to be a collaborative partnership or huge team effort, so it's not something to be taken lightly. #TowardsZeroSuicide CIC Founder Paul Vittles is more than happy to advise or support anyone who wants to organise a Tour around the ZeroSuicideSociety #JoinTheDotsTour model in their part of the country. https://lnkd.in/epNXArYy

#Education & #training were designed-in as strong features of the #ZeroSuicideSociety #JoinTheDotsTour June 2024 - along with advocacy, campaigning & collaborative partnership working - all highlighting the practical actions we can take to get the suicide numbers on a downward trend, towards zero. This will all come into sharp focus again around 10 Sept - #WorldSuicidePreventionDay #WSPD #WSPD2024 - when we all focus on 'Changing the Narrative on Suicide' and talking about suicide to help reduce stigma, enhance understanding and, ultimately, #SaveLives. During the pioneering Tour in June, Towards Zero Suicide CIC Founder Paul Vittles pulled up our banners to help explain the Zero Suicide Society + Key Messages & have everyone zap the QR Code for the Zero Suicide Alliance training (evidence-based, #LivedExperience informed, NHS endorsed, online, 20 mins, free!)... ...and he delivered educational talks in a Wellbeing Hub (Hull), a conference hall (Scunthorpe), a cinema (York), a Wellness Centre (Sowerby Bridge), a Wellbeing Centre (Middleton), a craft workshop & a theatre (Bury), a shopping centre (Wigan), a rugby league stadium (Warrington) & a bar (Liverpool). Across the whole Tour, we engaged with our local collaborative partners and interacted with 3,000+ people from 550 organisations. Our conversations included a rolling needs assessment of what support people feel they need to have more impact in their own work to get the suicide numbers on a downward trend #TowardsZeroSuicide. After analysis, top of the list of expressed needs were: 1) data, evidence & arguments to support 'the case for training' to get much greater take-up of training - specifically #SuicidePrevention training, not just #wellbeing or #MentalHealth; and 2) data, evidence & arguments to support 'the business case' for investing in (workplace) wellbeing and, specifically, in suicide prevention. In this post-Tour report, we've tried to meet these needs, drawing from: > interactions & conversations we had on the Tour & in our debriefs; > our own research, Paul's vast research over the past 10 years & other relevant past research; and > the survey research monitor Paul set up a couple of years ago (Paul designing the questions and overseeing the survey) with the wonderfully collaborative MEL Research whilst he was a freelancer working with The Jordan Legacy CIC - hence it initially being called 'The Jordan Legacy MEL Research Survey', now the 'Towards Zero Suicide CIC MEL Research Tracking Survey' - which provides valuable data, filling gaps in national data sets. It's a nationally representative sample of 1500 UK adults (aged 16+) surveyed twice a year, with the Spring 2024 & Autumn 2024 Surveys boosted to 1900 so we can more closely study the results across our Humber-to-Mersey Tour route. Hopefully you'll find it an interesting and, more importantly, a useful report: https://lnkd.in/edmBPZUT

The #ZeroSuicideSociety Humber-to-Mersey #JoinTheDotsTour, 11-23 June 2024, was a huge collaborative partnership initiative, connecting together people, organisations, places & issues that are all 'pieces in the #SuicidePrevention puzzle' and all 'parts of the solution' for significantly reducing the numbers of suicide deaths (and suicide attempts). It was a demonstration roll out of the Zero Suicide Society Transformation Programme...and so much more than this via the collective energy and synergy of bringing together so many people committed to creating and sustaining a Zero Suicide Society... "a society that is willing and able to do all it can to prevent all preventable suicides" ...and committed to getting the suicide numbers on a downward trend #TowardsZeroSuicide. Film-maker Garry Lynch from Bear Media has done a superb job of capturing the essence of the Tour, and key highlights, including the amazing final day in Liverpool, in this short film. Please note that it's 17 mins - and emotional in places - so schedule a time to watch it, probably best with a cuppa...and a hankie close by! But it is a happy, hopeful, uplifting film...and many of those who've given us feedback so far have described it as "inspiring", which is good to hear. If you also think it's hopeful and inspiring, please share the film in your networks to spread the hope and inspiration! https://lnkd.in/eNHfi8nm

Towards Zero Suicide CIC certainly had a big start to its life as a Community Interest Company - 100% dedicated to rolling out the #ZeroSuicideSociety Transformation Programme; facilitating the systems changes and practical actions needed to get the UK #suicide numbers on a downward trend #TowardsZeroSuicide - by organising & delivering the #JoinTheDotsTour in June 2024, from the Humber to the Mersey. In total, the Tour comprised 19 major events across 15 towns & cities in 'the M62 Corridor' in 13 days, arriving in #Liverpool in time for the 5th International #ZeroSuicide Summit 24/25 June. And this pioneering Tour began with an absolutely ground-breaking Launch Conference at The Baths Hall in #Scunthorpe on Wed 12 June. The Launch Conference was ground-breaking in several respects. 1) It was ground-breaking in its breadth of coverage of the range of factors that cause or contribute to preventable suicide deaths and the many practical steps we can take to reduce the suicide numbers. 2) When the UK's leading 'experts by profession & qualifications' and 'experts by #LivedExperience of suicide' were invited to speak about their particular 'piece of the puzzle', there was an unprecedented 90% acceptance rate, demonstrating the shared interest, desire to 'do something different', and commitment to the cause! 3) It was also a breakthrough for #SuicidePrevention to have a major conference - so well-attended by such a wide mix of people & organisations with a shared interest in getting the suicide numbers down (towards zero) - where 2 in 3 of the speakers & panellists were people with lived or living experiences of suicide. And it was an honour and a privilege to have people on our stage who've sadly become 'landmark cases' - eg Phyllis Daly losing her daughter Jessie to suicide in the first case of a coroner concluding that #DomesticAbuse was a key factor; Julia Waters losing her sister, head teacher #RuthPerry, after the clearly harmful approach of schools inspectorate #Ofsted contributed to Ruth's suicide; and Robert Abrahart having lost his daughter Natasha to suicide then made to endure institutionalised cruelty rather than compassion from the university (Bristol) which contributed to Natasha's suicide - highlighting precisely what can be done to avoid other families having to experience the pain & suffering of suicide loss or suicide crisis. Thankfully, we were able to capture the essence of this incredible day at The Baths Hall & Plowright Theatre - which may be looked back on as a seminal moment in the history of 'suicide prevention with high ambition' - with expert film-maker Garry Lynch of Bear Media editing & producing this excellent (7 mins) key highlights video: https://lnkd.in/e6YgS-c4 Paul Vittles