As a charity supporting young people’s mental health and well-being, suicide prevention is an incredibly important aspect of the work we do.  

Our recently launched Project Iris is a programme that supports young people from 11-25 experiencing loneliness, isolation, suicidal thoughts and ideation – offering them strategies and scaffolding to support their mental health in combination with access to green therapies such as horticulture and equine.  

As part of our commitment to suicide prevention we are working hard to build links with other organisations and charities working in the same area, ensuring we can provide the best level of support for the young people in our care.  

We were lucky enough to join with the Hampshire Suicide Prevention Forum this July to let them know more about our project.  

Hosted at the University of Winchester the forum included speakers from Public Health Hampshire County Council, University of Winchester, and representatives from NHS 111, No Limits, Sasha’s Project, and more. 

We heard updates on Hampshire’s Multi-Agency Suicide Prevention Plan (CYP), a comprehensive plan focusing on children and young people, highlighting multi-agency efforts and integrated approaches to prevent suicide among the youth. We also heard about the University Mental Health Charter, a framework for universities to adopt a comprehensive approach to mental health. 

As well as presenting Project Iris: Growing Hope to the group, we learned more about other Hampshire services including: 

• No Limits is a service providing free and confidential information, advice, counselling, and support to young people under 26.
• Sasha’s Project supports individuals in crisis and prevent suicides through various interventions and support mechanisms.
• CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) delivers specialised mental health services to children and adolescents.
• i-Thrive Framework is a needs-based approach to delivering mental health services for children and young people. There are 5 groupings: Thriving, Getting advice, Getting help, Getting more help, and Getting risk support. The framework will encourage multi-agency collaboration, ensuring seamless support across different services and sectors.

The forum also highlighted several training opportunities and resources to support ongoing suicide prevention efforts: 

• Zero Suicide Alliance Training: Free online suicide awareness training.
• Suicide First Aid Training: Offered as both half-day and full-day courses to equip individuals with the skills to intervene and support those at risk.
• Stay Alive App: A mobile app providing a safety plan function and resources for those in crisis.

The Hampshire Suicide Prevention Forum underscored the critical importance of collaborative efforts in tackling suicide. By bringing together various stakeholders, innovative approaches, and promoting continuous training and support, Hampshire aims to build a robust network capable of effectively addressing and reducing suicide rates across the county. 

This is such an important group that really highlights the importance of working together and supporting each other to offer the best possible outcomes for young people in our area.