Increased funding for Suicide Prevention work in West Yorkshire and Harrogate

Great Minds – connect, talk, support We have successfully secured national funding from NHS England/NHS Improvement for several key programmes to take suicide prevention work forward across our communities.

Trailblazer funding has enabled us to employ two pathfinder support workers whose ambition is to reach men in our communities, vulnerable to suicide risk, through our ‘Great Minds’ project work. These workers are mapping out and linking up sources of support across WY&H so that men can get the help they need, when they need it. They will also be offering groups to teach mental fitness for up to 600 men in our communities, working closely with our colleagues in State of Mind Sport who draw on their own lived experiences. This work will now take place online, we have produced some great promotional films to promote the ‘Great Minds’ project and our workers are also providing online network groups for local support services to connect with each other during lockdown.


State of Mind team

Every death by suicide means the loss of someone’s friend or family member, and even the deaths by suicide of people we don’t know can sadden us

One research study estimates that each death by suicide affects more than 130 people and when someone with a high public profile, or in a community such as a school or workplace, takes their life this impact can be hugely magnified. In truth we can never really calculate the extent of these losses; death by suicide impacts us as individuals, on our communities, faith groups, families and on our wider society.

On a personal level, Lin Harrison overheard staff in her local fruit and veg shop talking about their shock following the suspected suicide of a local young man just last week. They had all known him and his family since he was a young boy and just didn’t know how to make sense of this. She took the opportunity to talk to them about what support might be needed for them, the young man’s family and friends and dropped off some copies of the booklet ‘Help is at Hand’ and information about their local postvention service. Daring to speak about suicide and reaching out is so important, it can be lifesaving.

Thanks for reading and take care,
Mike Doyle and Lin Harrison