(Image: ABF Chief Officer Lorrisa Roberts and Trustee Phil Jones grab a coffee together)
*Trigger warning – this post refers to suicidal feelings*
Friday, September 10th marks World Suicide Awareness Day 2021; a day where organisations and communities around the world come together to raise awareness of how we can create a world where fewer people die by suicide.
This year’s theme is ‘Creating Hope Through Action’ and Wrexham mental health and wellbeing charity Advance Brighter Futures (ABF) is asking people to remember that suicide is preventable, not inevitable, and ABF wants to show how our actions, no matter how big or small, may provide hope to those who are struggling.
Lorrisa Roberts, ABF Chief Officer, said: “Raising awareness of suicide is so important. Like many areas of mental health, we simply don’t talk about suicide enough. People can avoid it, feeling it’s taboo, scary and won’t talk about their feelings or worries. This is such a shame because death from suicide can be preventable, and even the small things can make a difference.
“This year’s theme is to create hope through action. This could be an action you take towards your own wellbeing, or an action you make to help someone else going through a difficult time. Something as simple as walking your dog can help you to refresh, so that’s an action someone could take towards their own wellbeing. Or if you think a friend might need a chat, you could ask them if they want to grab a coffee. These are just a couple of examples of the small things which make a difference and can help us to stay hopeful.”
TRAINING FOR STAFF AND COMMUNITY
ABF has delivered suicide alertness training to its staff and the wider community since 2015. The charity has trained facilitators who deliver the suicide alertness training safeTALK, which stands for ‘suicide alertness for everyone’.
safeTALK is the world’s fastest-growing suicide prevention training, with over 120,000 people attending each year.
Lorrisa said: “Unfortunately, due to limited funding and to ensure we can run the training regularly, we do have to ask for a small contribution from our attendees to help cover our costs. All our safeTALK workshops get advertised on our social media pages, so you can keep checking them if you’re interested, or you can email info@abfwxm to register your interest and we’ll let you know the details of our next courses as soon as they’re available.”
GREAT FREE TRAINING FOR UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE IN WREXHAM
ABF also has upcoming Mental Health Awareness Training (eMHA). This training consists of online e-learning modules and an interactive webinar through Zoom, which takes place 1pm-4pm on 14 October.
The course is available for Wrexham residents who are unemployed to help them find work, as well as assisting their own wellbeing.
Lorrisa added: “This training will help you to develop an understanding and awareness of what mental health is, what mental illness is, and the difference between the two. It can be useful to anyone who is considering working in this area, or for someone who wants to enhance their CV. If you’d like to find out more, or to book a place on this training, please call 01978 364777 or email info@abfwxm.co.uk.”
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