Action on Male Suicide comes to Middlesbrough
People are going to be sharing what we know about male suicide, learn from what is happening locally and identify practical priorities for change
People across Middlesbrough are coming together today to better understand what is driving male suicide - and what could be done differently to help more men stay alive.
Action on Male Suicide is hosting a new series of events taking the latest research on male suicide out of universities and into communities, so that knowledge can be shared with the people who can use it to make a difference.
The free, full-day event at The Acklam Green Centre will bring together local residents, people with lived experience, charities, health professionals, emergency services, community organisations, policymakers and researchers to share what we know about male suicide, learn from what is happening locally and identify practical priorities for change.
The event forms part of a UK-wide programme of National Conversations organised by Action on Male Suicide, a new research-led charity dedicated to transforming how we understand and respond to male suicide.
They say male suicide rates represent a public health crisis. In almost every country in the world, men die by suicide at higher rates than women. The picture is particularly stark in the North East, which had the highest suicide rate of any English region in 2024.
The Middlesbrough event will be led by male suicide researcher and Action on Male Suicide founder Dr Susie Bennett, whose research has explored the experiences of thousands of men around the world who have been suicidal, including the social, psychological and relational factors that can contribute to suicidal distress.
Susie said: "For years, my work has been driven by one question: why do so many men reach a point where death can feel like their only option?
“We have learned an enormous amount by listening to men who have been suicidal, but that knowledge cannot remain inside universities and academic journals. It needs to reach the people who can actually use it.
“That is what these National Conversations are about. We want to bring the research into communities, listen to what people in places like Middlesbrough are seeing and experiencing, and ask what we can collectively do to make things better for men.”
The Middlesbrough event will share the latest research into male suicide risk and protective factors, alongside local experiences and approaches to supporting men. Participants will also be invited to share gaps in existing support, priorities for change and opportunities for organisations across the area to work together.
The charity says that central to its work is ensuring the voices of men who are suicidal and families bereaved by male suicide, are central to conversations about what needs to change.
Mark Gallagher, a living experience advisor to Action on Male Suicide who recently survived a suicide attempt, said: “Real suicide prevention isn’t awareness days, hashtags, or kind slogans. It’s proactive support. It’s patience for messy recovery. It’s compassion that continues after the spotlight fades.
“It’s professionals and communities reaching in, not waiting for the most broken people to reach out again and again.”
Paula, who lost her 19-year-old son to suicide, said: “The pain of losing a much-loved son to suicide is indescribable. What makes that pain even harder to bear is knowing that my kind, clever, funny, considerate and loving son’s death was preventable. Life for my family is forever darker without him.
“Reducing male suicide is not only the responsibility of men themselves; it is also the responsibility of society, public institutions and services.
“I truly believe Action on Male Suicide can meet this urgent education need and save lives. It is too late for my son, but I am hopeful it can help prevent other families experiencing the same loss.”