Suicide remains the lead cause of death in Greater Manchester for people aged 15-29 the impact of losing some one to suicide can be felt by many people across a community. For this reason, STORM®Skills Training CIC in collaboration with Six Degrees CIC, members of the GM Bereavement Network, including Wendy Cordwell of Bereavement Care Services, co-ordinated a Greater Manchester Suicide Bereavement conference.
The purpose of this free event, chaired by Malcolm Rae of State of Mind, was to support the roll out of the new GM Bereavement by Suicide Pathway. The 100 plus delegates were provided with the opportunity to learn about and explore the services and support available to the bereaved across Greater Manchester, including the Samaritans, Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) and Papyrus.
This diversity inspired thought-provoking dialogue in the 12 workshops that were held throughout the day (the full detail of the programme and the workshops are listed at the end of this article).
Delegates commented that they found the conference to be an insightful day which offered opportunity to gain knowledge, network and learn about other related organisations. Delegates were impressed by the presenters and resources provided.
Jackie Hughes a Counsellor from Healthy Minds commented that the conference;
“Was a great opportunity to learn from the experiences and knowledge of others and gather information to enable me to feel more confident when signposting in my practice”
Kirsty Betts a Mental Health Practitioner from 42nd Street commented that she felt;
“Privileged to have attended the conference and moved by the feelings and experiences of all those who shared stories throughout the day. [The conference] was inspirational and gave me a sense of being more confident to speak openly about suicide and break the taboo”
The STORM®team received positive news of collaborative activities that have begun as a result of the conference. These activities include a new peer support group based around a local hospice. Actions like this strengthen the community infrastructure, which in time, will lessen and possibly limit the human suffering caused by suicide.
This event was part of the STORM® Community Engagement Programme, where as a not-for-profit social business, we reinvest surplus income into the community.
Thank you to all our speakers and to everyone who attended on the day, we hope to see you at future events!
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The University of Nottingham are inviting professionals working across different settings with young people who have self-harmed to share their views on the CaTS-app – which aims to improve shared understanding and assessment of self-harm between young people and professionals.
Two of our wonderful team members, Dani and Emma, lead our Wellbeing Programme for the internal Storm Skills Training team. They’re passionate and committed to improving the health and wellbeing of our team and are invested in promoting a happy and supportive environment.
Since getting the go ahead from our CEO Bianca and our Board, they have introduced and grown a programme which has gone from strength to strength. We are so proud and thankful to them for developing this idea.
In this piece Dani and Emma tell us how it all began, what they’ve learned, and what their plans are for the future.
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