Services Overview: Professionals
We promote and deliver a truly inclusive service. We do not have waiting lists or complex referral processes and run an informal drop in service open to everyone.
What we offer
INDIVIDUALS
Supporting an individual who is experiencing suicidal crisis
Once a beneficiary is no longer in crisis, our organisation focuses on prevention by supporting beneficiaries to resolve the issues which have brought them to crisis point and bring them down from 100% suicidal ideation to 0%. We then move on to postvention through wellbeing and mental health support by building the beneficiaries' confidence in the areas which brought them to crisis point. All the postvention work we do comes back to sucide prevention in which our service breaks the cycle of revolving door mental health care by equipping the service user to change the circumstances which triggered their suicidal ideation in the first instance.
BEREAVEMENT
Supporting an individual who is bereaved by suicide
If the beneficiary is not in suicidal crisis, we refer the beneficiary to the appropriate service for further support, we then work with the beneficiary to establish what their needs are and use our network to find them the most appropriate long-term support.
FAMILIES
Supporting an individual who is affected by suicide
We deliver Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)* (suicide first aid) into family units in which an individual is considering or has considered suicide.
*Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) is a two-day interactive workshop in suicide first aid. ASIST teaches participants to recognise when someone may have thoughts of suicide and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety. Although ASIST is widely used by healthcare providers, participants don't need any formal training to attend the workshop—anyone 16 or older can learn and use the ASIST model.
For more information or to speak to our professional services team, please contact us here:
Our Research
We know that whilst suicide can affect anyone, there are certain groups who are more at risk:
Men are 3 times more likely to take their own life than women with a particular spike in young and middle aged men
People who have previously attempted suicide (Accounted for 38% of all recorded suicides in Merseyside & Cheshire in 2017)
Those living in poor or deprived areas
People in the care of Mental Health services or involved in the Criminal Justice system
Those who are divorced or single
We have also identified other vulnerable groups from our current work:
Young people (school bullying, social media, body image, identity)
LGBT Trans + Q people
Ex- Military & “Blue Light” personnel
New Mums (PostNatal Depression & Postpartum Psychosis)
People who have been bereaved by suicide
Our Approach
We believe that our inclusive, non-judgemental approach, allied with measures to target and monitor at risk groups, will help us promote an inclusive service and contribute to a more inclusive community.
We do not have waiting lists or complex referral processes, because we recognise that due to the stigma and shame associated with suicide, people do not generally speak about it and therefore when someone comes to us it is a “window of opportunity” which needs to be opened immediately.
Dr Elizabeth Scowcroft told The Independent: “Every single one of these deaths is a tragedy that devastates families, friends and communities. Suicide is complex and rarely caused by one thing. 'Many of us may experience suicidal feelings in our life, but they are temporary, even if someone has been feeling low, anxious or struggling to cope for a long period of time. That’s why getting the right kind of support at the right time is so important.”
Our Professional Relationships
Due to the ever increasing need for our service, we have developed strong links with a wide range of local public, community and private sector organisations. Our referrals come from a large range of community and statutory resources including but not limited to;
Police & Ambulance service
Fire and Rescue Service
Wirral A&E
Local GP’s
NHS Crisis Team
Cheshire & Wirral Partnership
Involve NW
The Dove Service
Wirral Borough Council
Talking Together Wirral
Wirral MIND
YMCA
Healthy S. Wirral
CGL & Spider Project (Addiction recovery support)
Case Studies
These case studies evidence the effectiveness of our intervention methods
L was talked out of suicide by a kind stranger in 2018 and suffered a brain injury from an accident in 2019 during which he had to learn to walk and talk again, this forced him back into suicidal crisis. He had been forced to stop working and couldn’t find anywhere willing to take him as a volunteer. His confidence was shattered. He came to us, was accepted into the team, supported and became a valuable part of our project. He believes that volunteering for the project has been a large part of his recovery.
CA came to the project in 2019 days after her partner took his own life with a letter of instructions that her partner had left her prior to ending his life. We supported CA to locate his will, close bank accounts and cancel contracts as per the letter. We then organised counselling and inquest support for CA. A few weeks later CA brought her son LA to the project as he had failed his A-Levels due to Dad’s suicide occurring during exam season. LA was distraught that he had lost his place at a university close to home meaning the family could keep good contact following their loss. We liaised with the University and secured his place, and worked closely with them to ensure he was adequately supported following his bereavement.
HP attended the centre in a suicidal crisis in October 2019 following several attempts on her own life. We performed an intervention and kept her safe from suicide. Her heavily pregnant partner CP attended the centre with her and was struggling with her own mental health due to the concern for her partner. We then trained CP with Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training which allowed the support to continue from within the family home. They have now had a baby and believe that their child has two parents due to the project's support.
MD came to the project in 2019 with a clear wish to end his life. We supported MD to stay safe whilst we worked with him on the factors contributing to his suicidal thoughts. We arranged some housing support, debt advice, talking therapies and routes back into employment. MD started to attend the Man Cave weekly and was supported by the volunteers throughout his recovery. He is now back in employment and no longer considers suicide an option. MD said “Without the help and support from Jess and the Man Cave I really don’t think I would be here right now. From a shoulder to cry onto a friendly voice, they are there for you no matter what. I owe my life to them and will never forget that they gave me my future back.”