In this blog, our CEO Bianca Romanyk shares an important message marking World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) and introduces our WSPD edition of the newsletter, filled with the latest news and resources for the suicide prevention community.
Before reading the blog:
This report mentions topics related to self-harm and suicide which may potentially lead to distress. Before you read the guidance, check in with yourself. How are you feeling today? If you were negatively impacted or affected, who would you contact for support? Support is available from Samaritans, for free, 24/7. Phone 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.uk.
We are excited to share that our latest newsletter - the World Suicide Prevention Day edition - is now live, and you can read it online.
Each year on 10th September, we come together to honour those who have been lost and those who carry the pain of loss or the struggles of living. Together, we reaffirm our dedication to learn from those we've lost and the many lives we may have saved.
It’s a special World Suicide Prevention Day for me. It was ten years ago that I joined the Storm Skills Training team. A decade!! Wow.
The theme, Changing the Narrative on Suicide #StartTheConversation, reminds us that talking about suicide can be a powerful act of care and a vital step toward saving lives.
At Storm Skills Training, we’re proud to be part of this national and global effort. We go beyond starting the conversation; we build confidence to work with distress towards safety. Our training helps professionals across sectors feel confident and prepared to have safe, compassionate and evidence-informed conversations about suicide and self-harm.
And most importantly, we help people know how to create safety when the answer is yes to those important questions.
More than 720,000 people die by suicide every year worldwide. Suicide continues to be one of the leading causes of death across all age groups in England, and heartbreakingly, it remains the biggest killer of people under 35. But behind every statistic is a story and the impact of suicide reaches across lifetimes, touching families, friends and communities in profound ways.
Suicide prevention is increasingly recognised as a responsibility shared across all workplaces. With the upcoming release of British Standard BS 30480: Suicide and the Workplace – Intervention, Prevention and Support for People Affected by Suicide, the UK’s first workplace standard on suicide awareness and prevention, there’s a renewed focus on how organisations can support staff and respond to distress. We look forward to keeping you updated on its release, scheduled for November.
While our history and origin stem from the specialist area of mental health and suicide prevention, our newest course, Skills Training in Suicide and Self-harm Prevention Foundation Level, brings our expertise to new audiences. The course is designed for people with little or no formal experience in suicide prevention and offers practical, accessible skills to help anyone feel more confident in supporting someone in distress. Whether you work in HR, management, education, law enforcement, construction or customer service, this level of training is relevant to you. Suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility and this course helps make that responsibility feel achievable.
The UK Government's '10 Year Health Plan for England: Fit for the Future mentions suicide prevention, which is an improvement over the previous 10-year plan. However, the sector is feeling the pinch of difficult economic times. Purse strings are pulled tight and the ring-fenced budgets for preventing suicide are corroding. So we ask: How will you make sure suicide and self-harm prevention stay on your agenda?
- Include suicide and self-harm prevention in your organisation’s risk register?
- Embed prevention into board assurance frameworks and governance reporting?
- Align prevention with safeguarding and duty of care responsibilities?
Safeguarding, suicide, and self-harm are particularly important for schools in England who over the next 12 months will need to implement new RSHE guidance, which includes talking about suicide.
It’s a busy and exciting time for us here are Storm Skills Training, as we;
- Launch the Training Evaluation and Quality Advisory Group (TEQAG) - I’m excited to work with our panel of experts, including researchers, subject matter specialists, Storm commissioners, and those with lived experience.
- Share a blog from Co-Founder of Storm Skills Training, Professor Linda Gask, who explores the often-overlooked issue of women’s mental health and asks a vital question: Do we know enough about why women take their lives?
- Explore the research of Hannah Sharp, a PhD student at the University of Leeds, who invites professionals to take part in an important research project.
We hope you enjoy reading this edition of our newsletter. Wherever you are in the world, we invite you to join us in changing the narrative on suicide - by starting conversations, listening deeply, and working together toward safety.
Bianca
CEO, Storm Skills Training CIC
In the UK:
Samaritans
Phone: 116 123 (free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year) | jo@samaritans.org | samaritans.org
International:
International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP)
findahelpline.com/i/iasp
If you are looking to enhance your skills in self-harm and suicide prevention, please reach out to us. We'd love to hear from you.
