City to mark World Suicide Prevention Day

The importance of good mental health and wellbeing will be highlighted on World Suicide Prevention Day this Friday (10 September).

Wolverhampton’s Suicide Prevention Stakeholder Forum will also be using the day to raise awareness of the help and support available for people experiencing distress or dispair, and to open up a dialogue around this complex issue.

A wide range of free events and activites will be taking place on Friday. They include a Walk and Talk in West Park with Wolves Foundation's Head 4 Health project, open to men aged 18-plus who will be invited to take a stroll and chat about everything from football to feelings and anything in between. To book a place, please contact Rachel Smith on rachelsmith@wolves.co.uk or 07532 411166.

The Black Country Partnership NHS Trust is hosting a Help and Hope webinar from 10am-noon, featuring key speakers, workshops and mindfulness and wellbeing sessions. To register, please visit www.pleaseregisterhere.eventbrite.co.uk.

And Recovery College for the Black Country is holding a Zoom event from 2pm-4pm covering practical information, mindfulness and gratitude activities and moments of celebration and remembrance. For details, please call 0121 543 4061 or info@therecoverycollege.co.uk.

Being physically active is an excellent way to support and improve your mental health, and Walking for Health Wolverhampton holds a number of weekly walks around the city’s green spaces – including one at West Park on Fridays at 10.15am. For more details, visit https://tinyurl.com/vb596fy.

Meanwhile, there is a range of help and support available across the area for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair. If you are having a difficult time or if you are worried about someone else, contact The Samaritans on 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.org. Emails will be replied to within 24 hours.

The Black County Partnership NHS Trust's mental health support line is available to residents of all ages who are experiencing mental distress and require urgent support, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by calling 0800 008 6516.

The Rethink Emotional Support Helpline is a freephone service for those who are in need of support, reassurance and understanding. It is open Monday to Friday from 6pm-3am and weekends from 2pm-3am on 0808 802 2208.

Wolverhampton Healthy Minds – for people experiencing common mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and stress – can be contacted on 0800 923 0222 or 01902 441856, by visiting www.wolverhamptonhealthyminds.nhs.uk or emailing wolverhampton.healthyminds@bcpft.nhs.uk.

The Kaleidoscope Midlands Suicide Bereavement Support Group offers a safe space for people aged over 18 who have lost someone to suicide. It meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 7.30pm-9pm at Hope Place, 321 High Street, West Bromwich, B70 8LU. It also runs a Parents Self Help Support Group, for families caring for a young person who self-harms. It also meets on the first Tuesday of the month at Hope Place, from 5.30pm-7pm. For details, email sppark@kaleidoscopeplus.org.uk or call 07970 040016.

Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: “The council and its partners are committed to tackling stigma around mental health and suicide, and to highlight the help and support which is available to people who are going through a troubling period in their lives, and our message is clear; if you or someone you know is in a dark place, don’t suffer in silence – help and support is out there.”

Clare Dickens, Chair of the Suicide Prevention Stakeholder Forum, added: “The Forum is a group of organisations across Wolverhampton who recognise suicide is preventable and want to make a difference to the people of Wolverhampton and, as we approach World Suicide Prevention Day 2021, I am reminded of just how multi-faceted efforts within suicide prevention often have to be.

"For thoughts and distress that can be so complex, no one single thing can be considered the key to tipping us back to a point of safety. However, kindness and a commitment to listen are good starting points, which I do not underestimate can be difficult in the busyness of our lives, the stresses and pain we navigate ourselves, and this is without the fear and stigma surrounding such a complex topic.”

World Suicide Prevention Day takes place on 10 September each year and is organised by International Association for Suicide Prevention and the World Health Organisation.