The Charity Be… has been established in response to the high number of suicides among young people in the UK and Ireland. There are currently somewhere in the region of 3 young people a day who take their own lives and 3 young people per hour who attempt suicide or self-harm.
Firstly Be… aims to raise awareness of issues of youth suicide and deliberate self-harm at all levels in young people, the government, media and the general public. The emphasis will be on young people aged 14-24 year old. Young people will be involved at every stage of the process and the most effective up-to-date information will help to form partnerships in the future with key organisations such as the FA and the music press, to clearly give out the message that it is okay to talk about it...
Partnerships with other professional organisations in the field are being sought such as programmes to complement existing provisions. We are working closely with the Department of Health and those involved with the National Strategy.
We aim to develop a comprehensive education program for young people. Its primary aim will be the recognition of suicidal behaviour in their peers. We need to achieve a culture change in the way young people think. They need to know that it is okay to talk about their feelings and that they are not unusual. Work will be disseminated through formal and informal education and via website and text messaging...
We are also working with other organisations such as Cruse and the Here For Life organisation in USA and Australasia to develop the most effective strategies for helping young people
Our third aim would be to educate and support the families of young families at risk and those practitioners who work with them. Again, this would consist of learning to recognise suicidal behaviour and any strategies for supporting young people in this situation and supporting the rest of the family. We would hope a support network would grow out of this work within the coming years.
All our aims are long term but we can make a huge impact by raising awareness of the issues in the short term. Our long term plans must fulfil the strategic vision to enable the necessary culture change to take place....
Information
- To provide a source of help and information on youth suicide and deliberate self-harm (DSH). To include development of an easily accessible website.
- Provision of information on recognising suicidal behaviour and responses to this.
Youth Participation
- Promote young people's participation in the development of services and in providing feedback via the website's Message Board and through text messaging.
- Support for agencies in exploring new ways of working that are increasingly responsive to the needs of vulnerable young people.
Education
A programme of education that includes:
- Supporting the emotional well being of young people thereby enabling them to increasingly ask for help and advice and for this to be seen as important and valued by wider society
- Training practitioners in the early recognition of suicidal tendencies and appropriate responses to these.
- Developing better communication between all parties (including groups of practitioners and between young people and their parents/carers).
Research
- Looked After Children, extended families, practitioners and others.
- The relative effectiveness of different forms of media in relaying advice, help and information.
- Mapping existing provision e.g. youth counselling services, relevant web sites etc.
Advocacy
- Promote increased clarity and consistency in the reports produced by coroners in the event of death.
Partnership
- Working with other agencies to provide a comprehensive and co-ordinated range of services in the field of youth suicide and those involved in delivering the National Suicide Strategy.
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