Brighton charity launches pioneering scheme to get young people discussing mental health
Grassroots Suicide Prevention has created free online resources to help teachers lead sessions showing teenagers how to act early if they think a friend could end their own life.
A Brighton mental health charity's launched a first of its kind scheme, hoped to reduce the amount of young people ending their own lives.
Grassroots Suicide Prevention has created free online resources to help teachers lead sessions showing teenagers how to act early if they think a friend's struggling.
'Breaking the Silence' is aimed at those aged over fourteen, and hopes to open conversations around suicide to cut stigma around the topic.
"There is a need - and it's increasing."
Former teacher Joanna Johnson, the charity's training manager, said it's "vital" to equip young people with the right tools:
"We're losing lives to suicide with young people an average of about 200 a year.
That's an average of four children a week, which is absolutely heart breaking.
"So there is a need and it is increasing.
"They are talking anyway, online and offline.
"We want them to talk to us, and sometimes they will, but they are talking to each other, so we need to equip them with the right skills, which are safe and ethical and evidence informed to enable them to do this."
Necessary skill-set
The charity's worked in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University to create the workshops, which are launching after a successful trial in Patcham.
Johnson continued: "We want to encourage people to do is to reduce the stigma.
"Talk, have the topic talk about suicide and importantly, ask the question clearly and directly.
"Is someone thinking about suicide? That's the skill set we need. "It doesn't push people into dying by suicide or attempting suicide.
"And what it's actually found is that encourages people to come forward and seek support."