In Wolverhampton, suicide prevention is just part of several initiatives grouped under #WolvesWellbeing.

One is the Hope Walk, taking place on 22 October around the city.

The walk in Wolves will not be focused on fundraising, but more a chance to raise awareness of where to get help. In planning meetings, we discussed that, rather than just signposting people to local organisations, it would be good if the walk actually took people past where they’re based in the city, raising the profile of each service and what they can do for people who are experiencing severe mental ill-health.

Stakeholders, members of the public and people who’ve been through services themselves will all be involved. The Mayor of Wolverhampton, Councillor Claire Darke, is passionate about the issue and has organised for the walk to finish at the Mayoral Suite.

Challenging language

The walk is part of many across the country organised by Papyrus—a national young people’s suicide prevention charity.

Papyrus also attend the forum in Wolverhampton, and have provided free suicide prevention training for members, including awareness of what language we use when we talk about suicide; for example, using words like ‘commit’ make it sound like a criminal offence.

The local authority took this on board, training their own communications teams about language on social media and in press statements, to try to change the way suicide is discussed in the media.