Suicide prevention

Thinking of suicide?

Samaritans

Whatever you're going through, you can call Samaritans any time, from any phone for free.

Call 116 123.

Papyrus

Are you, or is a child or young person under the age of 35 you know not coping with life?

For confidential suicide prevention advice contact HOPELINEUK.

They are open 9am to midnight every day (weekends and Bank Holidays included).

Papyrus website

CALM

If you are struggling, you can talk to CALM.

Chats are free confidential and anonymous.

CALM website

Call 0800 58 58 58 (5pm to midnight, 365 days a year).

Your GP

You can also talk to your GP who will be able to refer you to services that can support you.

Safe connections

Safe Connections offer the Community Hub which aims to support people who are experiencing suicidal thoughts to access the right service at the right time.

They offer a safe space for people to talk about their feelings and concerns and explore the underlying reasons as to why someone may feel suicidal.

Their connectors provide a mixture of emotional and practical support and tailored signposting to help meet the individual’s needs.

Call 0300 561 0115.

Safe Connections website

You can also download the safe connections app via a QR code.

Hub of Hope

To find more Mental Health and Suicide Prevention support services in your local area visit the Hub of Hope and enter your postcode.

Hub of Hope website

Support for people bereaved or affected by suicide

If you have been bereaved or affected by suicide, or know somebody else who has, it can be difficult to know where to go for help.

Grief in Pieces

Grief in Pieces is part of Safe Connections: Local Support for People Facing Suicide, operated by Mind in North East London (a partnership of local Minds).

Many people bereaved by suicide find that they need more specific support than that provided for bereavement in general and can find it particularly valuable to make use of support groups and other forms of support and understanding that are especially designed for people bereaved by suicide.

Grief in Pieces offers a range of support for people and families who have experienced the loss of a loved one, friend or colleague to suicide.

Grief in Pieces website

Support After Suicide Partnership (SASP)

SASP offer the Help is at Hand booklet a resource for people bereaved through suicide or other unexplained death, and for those helping them.

At a loss partnered with the Support after Suicide Partnership provides the UK’s bereavement signposting website which can direct you to various types of local support in Havering tailored to who the type of bereavement you are going through and your age.

Go to the SASP website to find local support through ‘At a loss’ and the ‘Help is at hand’ booklets.

SASP website

Suicide Bereavement Guides

Suicide Bereavement UK have developed a series of At Your Side guides for those bereaved by suicide in the Armed Forces community.

Three guides have been written by the bereaved for the bereaved.

  1. At Your Side guide for veterans
  2. At Your Side guide for families
  3. At Your Side guide for serving personnel

The suicide bereavement UK website not only offers the Suicide Bereavement Guides but also a range of other helpful resources.

Suicide Bereavement UK’s Guides

Self-help resources

The Stay Alive app is a suicide prevention resource for the UK, packed full of useful information and tools to help you stay safe in crisis.

Stay Alive App website

Resources organisations may find useful

In the event of a suicide impacting your organisation

Samaritans guide on how to manage media reporting and social media in the event of a suicide

Suicide prevention resources for organisations

Ripple tool

Ripple is a suicide prevention tool that intercepts web browser searches for methods of self-harm and suicide and signposts people to support services and resources.

Ripple can be installed on workplace devices and Wi-Fi networks. It can also be installed on devices in the home.

Ripple website

Papyrus toolkit for schools

The papyrus toolkit discusses what to do after a suicide impacting the school community and provides guidance and a template on developing a school suicide prevention strategy.

Papyrus Toolkit

Havering Suicide Prevention Training

Suicide is not inevitable and preventing suicide is everyone’s responsibility.

Training allows people to recognise warning signs and risk factors for suicide, and learn about the vulnerable populations who are at greater risk. It also ensures that staff are aware of their contribution towards prevention.

Equipping staff with knowledge and skills to have conversations about suicide will also ensure early intervention and support is provided and that those bereaved or affected by suicides receive can be signposted to appropriate support quickly.

If you want to know what to say or what to do when you suspect someone may be at risk of harming themselves, then please look at the information available in our training directory to find out what training is available, including free online training by the Zero Suicide Alliance.

Our suicide prevention training directory is updated once per quarter to make sure the links are still working and new training opportunities we come across are added to the directory.

View the training directory

Havering Suicide Prevention Strategy

Providing the information above are two of the actions that we said we would deliver as part of our Havering Suicide Prevention Strategy.

We are in the process of assessing the local suicide prevention strategy to take into account the national strategy published in September 2023.

We are working through the implications of the national strategy to ensure that our local strategy takes into account new guidance / initiatives and is amended accordingly.

While the local strategy is in development we will continue to be guided by the current Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge Suicide Prevention Strategy that was extended to cover 2023.