You should have all heard that we're running our 2nd 'Wired for Sound' charity event in which Wired Sussex members can give DJing a go, ‘Stick it On’ and battle it out for the prestigious title of ‘Best DJ’ and enjoy a more social style of event for the sector.
You hopefully caste your vote along with others to chose which 3 local charities should benefit from the proceeds, and I'd like to present a bit more detail about the 1st charity; 'Grassroots Suicide Prevention'.
Grassroots Suicide Prevention is dedicated to a 3 year plan to help the city turn this status around, and achieve the internationally recognised designation of being a suicide safer city. With support from leaders in Public Health and the NHS we are striving to help Brighton & Hove reach the following milestones:
- A Leadership committee to oversee the project
- A research-based action plan to promote suicide prevention and build capacity of local services
- Gatekeeper training (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) for local workforce who need suicide intervention skills
- Accessible suicide intervention services – 24/7
- Suicide bereavement support
- Suicide-safer organisations including service providers, GP practices, universities/colleges) where suicide prevention is integrated into the fabric of the organisations
- 3,000 local people take our ‘Tell Me’ suicide prevention pledge
- Mental health promotion: a comprehensive plan to inform the community about mental health and wellness will have been established
- World Suicide Prevention Day: events will be organised every year in support of World Suicide Prevention Day.
- Fundraising: we will appeal for donations to go into a ring-fenced fund to train Brighton & Hove community caregivers in suicide alertness.
We believe that suicide prevention is everybody’s business and that everyone in a community has a part to play. If you’d like to help us one thing you can do really simply is take our ‘Tell Me’ suicide prevention pledge. You will be signing up to have open, honest and direct conversations about suicide http://bit.ly/TellMepledge
"I pledge that I will:
...tell someone if I'm struggling and need help;
...reach out and tell you if I'm worried about you;
...listen to you, without judgement if you need someone to talk to;
...ask you, directly, if I think you're trying to tell me about suicide;
...help you get support if you're struggling and/or thinking about suicide."
When you take the pledge you will be signposted to resources for people in need of help, and also to our Facebook page where you can buy a pledge pack if you’d like one (badge/wallet card/suicide prevention resources).
Please take the pledge today and share it far and wide! We need your help to reach our target of 3,000 local residents taking this pledge by September 2015, as part of our Suicide Safer Brighton & Hove initiative. That’s roughly 5% of the city’s adult residents. This means that for every person in the city thinking about suicide (research tells us that %% of us will have thoughts of suicide in a 12 month period) there will be, symbolically, someone who’s prepared to talk with that person about suicide and show them where to find help.
Together we can strengthen our communities to prevent suicide. Thank you.
Chris Brown, Director
Website www.prevent-suicide.org.uk
Facebook http://bit.ly/Grassface
Twitter http://bit.ly/GrassTwit
Blog http://bit.ly/Grassblog
YouTube http://bit.ly/GrassTube
Address: Valley Social Centre, Whitehawk Way, Brighton BN2 5HE
Telephone: 01273 675764
Grassroots Suicide Prevention is a registered charity number 1149873 and a company limited by guarantee 5687263.
I hope to see you at 'Wired for Sound' on 23rd February. Do contact me in the meantime if your company would like to sponsor the event, or for further details or information regarding the charities or the event itself.
Caroline Morris, Wired Sussex