PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide

Let us be straight with you… To keep our suicide prevention helpline running through the night, we need your support with our emergency appeal. Your donation will save young lives. If you are unable to donate, please consider sharing this post and encourage others to help us. Hope can’t wait until the morning. Donate to our emergency appeal today. https://lnkd.in/e5fMyhZT

Every 3 minutes, our advisers support someone reaching out for suicide prevention advice. But right now, due to unprecedented financial pressures, we're facing challenges in continuing to provide our lifeline to young people through the night. Help us be there for young people when they need us the most. Let's keep HOPELINE 24/7. Donate to our emergency appeal today. Thank you.💜 https://lnkd.in/e5fMyhZT

If you're on a waiting list for physical or mental health support, and this is having a negative impact or causing you to experience thoughts of suicide, our HOPELINE247 advisers have guidance on ways to find more support in the meantime. Please know that support is available for you. If you're experiencing thoughts of suicide, we're always here to give personal, confidential support to help you stay safe for now: call 0800 068 4141, text HOPE to 88247, or email pat@papyrus-uk.org. 💜

💭 DISTRACTION TECHNIQUES When experiencing thoughts of suicide, it can be helpful to try and use distraction techniques as part of your plan to stay safe. Distractions can bring focus to something else which can help quieten those thoughts. Everybody responds differently to distractions. What works for one person, may not work for someone else. This document can be used as a starting point to explore the types of distractions that can be helpful for you when managing thoughts of suicide. Some examples of distraction techniques are: PHYSICAL DISTRACTIONS 💜 Go outdoors – take your pet if you have one. 💜 Dance around and burn some energy in the process. 💜 Play with a stress toy or ball your socks up and throw them at a wall. 💜 Sit in the garden, outside in the park or on a beach and listen to the sounds of nature. CREATIVE DISTRACTIONS 💜 Try drawing, painting or colouring – mindfulness colouring books are available in most shops. 💜 Start a blog and write about how you get through difficult times to help others. 💜 Try cooking or baking a new recipe. 💜 Make a HOPEBOX. PRODUCTIVE DISTRACTIONS 💜 Make a to-do list for your day or your week. 💜 Rearrange your wardrobe or organise your drawers. 💜 Have a clear out of stuff you don’t need anymore – perhaps donate it to charity. 💜 Go shopping and treat yourself to something nice. SOOTHING DISTRACTIONS 💜 Use your favourite bubble bath or shower gels and have a long bath or shower. 💜 Wrap yourself in a blanket or layer up in jumpers and hoodies. 💜 Watch your favourite childhood film or something you may have been wanting to see. 💜 Switch off all your technology and take time for yourself. You can find more ideas for distraction techniques here: https://lnkd.in/e5uBKfqh. #DistractionTechniques #LearnonLinkedIn #SuicidePrevention

Spotting the signs of suicide can make a difference. Read our latest blog post to learn about signs and situations to look out for, and how you can support yourself and loved ones who may be experiencing thoughts of suicide. 💜 #WeArePAPYRUS #SuicidePrevention #MentalHealth

📣 PAPYRUS WEEKLY ROUND UP📣 Here’s just a few things our incredible community teams have been up to this week… In Northern Ireland, Community Development Officer Joe met with the Mayor of Derry in the Mayors Parlour. The Mayor is an incredible support of the work we do at PAPYRUS, even taking part in our HOPEWALK back in October. This was a great opportunity to provide her with more information about PAPYRUS, the support we provide and how we can work together in the future. Community Development Officer Ho Yen delivered one of our SPOT training sessions to Macfarlanes, who recently named us their Charity of the Year (2024-25). Ho Yen said it was incredible to be joined by senior partners and HR professionals, as there are no limits to who can talk about suicide. Thank you so much to Macfarlanes for taking part in creating suicide-safer communities across the UK! Jo Stevens, MP for Cardiff East and Secretary of State for, visited the PAPYRUS office in Cardiff. The Minister asked about our work in her constituency and more widely in Wales, as well as discussing our suicide prevention training sessions and getting her staff trained. Thank you to Cardiff volunteers, Kian and Rhiannon, who talked about their volunteering experiences and their support for PAPYRUS and to Community Development Officer Lindsay who spoke about our work in Cardiff, including with diverse communities. Also in Wales, Community Development Officers Billie and Steph had the pleasure of delivering an ASIST for Hywel Dda Health Board & Aberystwyth University. Billie said the group were fantastic, very engaged, asking lots of questions and not afraid to get involved. One of the participants also said, this was the best training they’ve ever been on! Over in Warrington, PAPYRUS volunteer Lee, organised a Warrington Wellbeing Walk in junction with a number of mental health charities such as Andy’s Man Club and More Than Men. The event was attended by 70+ people (and lots of dogs!), including PAPYRUS volunteer Georgia and Volunteer Coordinator Fiona. Despite it being a cold day, it was great to get outside and go for a walk around the beautiful Moore Nature Reserve. It was an incredible opportunity to get people talking and to share loads of information about PAPYRUS and HOPELINE247. Following Tata Steel's decision to end steelmaking in Port Talbot, we were invited to train those involved in the community, including with resettlement and re-engagement of those affected by the closure. Community Development Officers Steph and Lindsay delivered two SPEAKs, one funded by Welsh Government Suicide and Self Harm Prevention team and one funded by Trade Union Community Learning. Attendees were from local government, DWP, the voluntary services centre, charities and the trade union. What an incredible week it’s been! Stay tuned for plenty more suicide prevention updates each week. 💜

Why should you take part in one of our suicide prevention training sessions? Here's what you will learn: 💜 How to speak safely and openly about suicide 💜 How to recognise the signs someone might be thinking about suicide 💜 The impact and prevalence of suicide in the UK 💜 The attitudes, myths and stigmas that surround suicide 💜 How to keep someone safe when experiencing thoughts of suicide Why not join us in creating suicide-safer communities by taking part in our upcoming training sessions: ⭐ Online SPEAK for anyone living or working in Barnsley, fully-funded by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. 📅 3 February 2025, 9am-1:30pm 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e3dzuQwJ ⭐ Online SPEAK for anyone living or working in North Tyneside, fully-funded by St Hilda's Trust. 📅 20 February 2025, 10am-1:30pm 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eSaAediW ⭐ Online SPEAK for anyone living or working in Newcastle Diocese, fully-funded by St Hilda's Trust. 📅 26 February 2025, 1:30pm-5pm 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eez4fPK3 ⭐ Online SPOT for anyone living or working in Barnsley, fully-funded by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. 📅 7 March 2025, 9am-11am 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eymXZ4-F ⭐ Online SPEAK for anyone living or working in Barnsley, fully-funded by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. 📅 20 March 2025, 9:30am-1pm 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e96EHsTS ⭐ Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) in Leeds, £180pp. 📅 13-14 May 2025, 9am-5pm (2 days) 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eC93VNTb If you can't join any of these sessions but would still like to play your role in preventing young suicides, find all of our upcoming training sessions here: https://lnkd.in/eyMERWf6

Asking about suicide saves lives, but it can be hard to know where to start or how to help. It's important to ask directly about suicide, as by doing so, you are telling the young person that it’s OK to talk openly about their thoughts of suicide with you. Here are some example conversation starters if you are worried about someone.💜 #SuicidePrevention

💜 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR SUICIDE PREVENTION HELPLINE, HOPELINE247 💜 Q: Who can contact HOPELINE247? A: You can contact us at HOPELINE247 if you are experiencing thoughts of suicide and need support keeping safe from taking steps to end your life. You can contact us if you have concerns for someone you feel may be experiencing thoughts of suicide and need support in having safe conversations around suicide. Lastly, you can contact us to de-brief after supporting someone with their thoughts of suicide. Q: How can you contact HOPELINE247? A: You can contact HOPELINE247 via phone, text, email and webchat. Call us on 0800 068 4141, text us on 88247, email us at pat@papyrus-uk.org and when our webchat function is available, a “Live Chat” icon will appear on our website. Q: When are you open? A: Our phone service is open 24 hours per day, every day of the year including weekends and bank holidays. Our text and email service have the same opening times, but we do highlight that this is not an immediate response service, and it may take up to 24 hours to receive a reply. For our webchat, an icon will appear on our website when our webchat service is available. If you cannot see the icon the service may be busy or unavailable at that time. Q: How will a HOPELINE247 Adviser support me? A: A HOPELINE247 suicide prevention adviser is someone who: Will ask about thoughts of suicide; take you and what you have to say seriously, they won't judge you and they will give you a safe space to talk about things that might be impacting on your thoughts of suicide. You can trust them and they won't be shocked by anything you say. They will advise and support you with your thoughts of suicide and they want to help you to keep yourself safe by developing a safety plan with you. HOPELINE247 advisers are people who each come with their own backgrounds, cultures, family, and friends. They may have differing sexuality, ethnicity, or physical and mental health than you, however, the focus will always remain on you. We understand that you may ask to know more about the advisers and their experiences, especially if you feel like it may help you. However, HOPELINE247 advisers will not talk about themselves, or answer personal questions as they want the conversation to be about you. For more frequently asked questions about our HOPELINE247 service, head to our website: https://lnkd.in/etRhrPDT Any more questions about HOPELINE247? Comment below! 💜 #Support #SuicidePrevention #WeArePAPYRUS

📣 PAPYRUS WINTER ROUND UP📣 Our weekly roundups are back! Here is what our community teams across the UK have been up to recently… Before the start of the new year, Steph went along to Beulah URC in Cardiff to join in a carol singing fundraiser for PAPYRUS. Over the three weeks of Advent, the congregation of the church sang carols to kindly raise money for PAPYRUS. In Glasgow, Guy visited Safehinge Primera’s office to accept their generous £3,152 donation and to share the incredible impact of their fundraising efforts. Guy and Jess also had the chance to meet Falkirk MP, Euan Stainbank, to let him know about the incredible work PAPYRUS is doing to create suicide-safe communities in Scotland and across the UK. Euan Stainbank has a huge amount of support for suicide prevention work in local communities, particularly in deprived and rural communities, and we can’t wait to see where this collaboration goes! In North Wales, Mandy and Nicola delivered training to a group of young people in the Rhyl Youth Centre. They took part in a SPEAK session which is looking at Myths and Facts, learnt some statistics, recognised and explored signs, understood how to ‘Ask the Question’ and worked through how to use a Suicide Safety Plan. In London, Ho Yen and Lauren were invited to attend WHEB’s Annual Investor Conference as their charity partner. It was a great event to get people talking about suicide and to showcase information about HOPELINE247, and volunteering for PAPYRUS. Over in Northern Ireland, Caroline met with the Resurgan Trust Director, Adrian Bird, Chairperson, Philip Dean and the Mayor of Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council, Councillor Kurtis Dickson to pick up the grand total for 2024... they raised a whopping £10,820. We are incredibly grateful that they have chosen PAPYRUS to be their Charity of the Year for 2025, and for their support in saving young lives this year. Jenny delivered a SP-OT session to all staff at Eden Girls Leadership Academy. Jenny said the staff were keen to implement their learnings from the training, and the Academy are looking to collaborate with us further to support students and parents. In Cardiff, Nicola, Mandy and Lindsay delivered an ASIST generously funded by Wates. We now have 23 new ASIST trained caregivers in Cardiff who will be playing their part in providing suicide support. Down in Cornwall, Carly took part in a radio interview with CHBN, Truro’s Community Radio and Cornwall’s Hospital Radio station. It was an incredible opportunity to raise awareness of PAPYRUS and the support we provide to the local community. Lastly, Millie and Billie delivered an ASIST training in Carmarthenshire to a wonderful group of Wellbeing Leads, Safeguarding Leads and Deputy Heads from each secondary school in the county, alongside their colleagues from Pupil Referral Units. Billie said the group were very passionate, knowledgeable and experienced! Thank you so much for taking the time to complete this training.