Council launches major project to prevent suicides

A major project to prevent suicides has been launched by Birmingham City Council – including organising focus groups with people whose lives have been touched by issues related to self-harm.

The wide-ranging initiative will see the city develop its next Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan, as part of the upcoming Creating a Mentally Healthy City Strategy.

Hajrah Khan, the council’s Programme senior officer for suicide prevention, said: “As part of the coproduction of the strategy, we are hosting focus groups for people with lived experience of issues surrounding suicide.

“We understand that people from ethnic minority communities are often underrepresented in work like this and we want to make sure the strategy represents the diverse city we share. We need your help to make this happen.

“We ask that you support this important piece of work by forwarding this email and/or sharing the poster attached with your service users and networks, to help us reach people who have vital expertise to share. I would really welcome any of you who have lived experience to consider participating in this capacity too.”

She said there would be separate focus groups for adults and young people (aged 14 to18) taking place both through in-person and virtual means in order to make them as accessible as possible.

Adult sessions will be held on August 7, 9, 13, 14 and 21. Sessions for young people aged 14 to 18 will take place on August 22 and 31.

Hajrah continued: “Please note that we will also be running equivalent focus groups for people who have been bereaved by suicide, which will be delivered by The Delicate Mind, information for which will be shared in due course.

“We know these topics bring with them some complex and often distressing feelings, so participants’ is our top priority. Before the session, every participant will have a 1:1 call with our public health team to chat about the event, discuss whether they feel they are in the right place to attend, and explore any needs they might have before, during or after the session to feel supported.

“During the event, we will also have trained Samaritans volunteers there who will be dedicated to supporting participants’ wellbeing, and we'll be sure to check in with participants after the event too. We'll also give participants a list of other resources to take away with you from the focus group in case there are any they would find helpful.

“All participants will also be given a voucher to say thank you and cover any travel and expenses after the focus group. 

All of the information can be found on our Eventbrite page.”

Anybody with questions is asked to contact Harjah at
hajrah.khan@birmingham.gov.uk.