The NKF is delighted to partner with other charities that meet our own criteria. The reality is that there are many charities in this space that are very deserving of our support. The Board of Trustees reviews the charities regularly and aims to offer support over a defined period. In addition, we maintain a healthy dialogue, so there is good awareness of each other’s activities.
To date the NKF has partnered with the following charities, which provide support and guidance to those who are suicidal or have been impacted by loss through suicide.
The Listening Place provides free, face-to-face, ongoing support, by appointment, for those who feel that life is no longer worth living. Carefully trained and selected volunteers, working in a supportive environment and backed by experienced mental health professionals, have regular meetings with visitors who are struggling with suicidal thoughts, plans and actions.
They provide fortnightly sessions, based on active listening and befriending: building trust and a supportive relationship, usually for 3-month period. Impact measurement shows that this helps people with suicidal thoughts to openly discuss, examine and reflect on their situation with a warm and supportive volunteer.
The Listening Place can currently support more than 5000 visitors per year. They receive referrals at the rate of over 600 per month and that is increasing every month. Referrals come from more than 150 partners including the NHS, charities, the Police and Social Services. Visitors are referred by many different parts of the NHS but particularly A&E Departments, mental health triage services, IAPT services and GP practices. The many charities who make referrals include Hestia, Maytree and British Red Cross.
James’ Place offers free, life-saving treatment to suicidal men in London, Liverpool and Newcastle. Suicide is the biggest cause of death in men under 50 in the UK and Since 2018, they have treated over 1,500 men , delivering over 7,500 therapy sessions.
After an initial referral, men are contacted by James’ Place and invited to come along and meet a therapist. Small yet thoughtful gestures such as having someone open the door when they arrive and being offered a hot drink and space to reflect before their session begins, all help them to feel at ease.
A huge amount of thought, effort and research has gone into the support offered by James’ Place, such as creating a safety plan and identifying a friend or family member who can support each man who attends and the use of carefully worded prompt cards to help men identify how they are feeling and what options they have.
By 2026, James’ Place hope to also have centres in Birmingham and Bristol, which will enable them to support 2,000 men every year.
Online searches for suicide methods have increased by 50% in the last 2 years with searches for suicide support lines also up by 150% since January 2019. To ensure more help and support is given to individuals searching for harmful content online, Alice Hardy set up R;pple; a digital tool, which when a user searches for harmful content online, guides them through a filter of breathing exercises and then very simple, uncluttered and calmly presented strategies and forums, help lines and mental health services they can access both now and longer term: accompanied with messages of hope and encouragement to keep safe.
To date, Ripple has been downloaded over 1.2 million times and has been installed by West Ham United, RPC Law, QBE, Locktons, Manchester Airport and Save the Children.
Ripple has intercepted over 12,500 genuine harmful online searches and whilst they don’t collect any personally identifiable information, 26 individuals have approached them to say that Ripple saved their life.
Individuals, Parents and Guardians can download Ripple at home, for free. Corporates should liaise with Wellbeing and IT teams and inform them that Ripple is a browser extension that can be deployed en masse for a subscription fee.
The team’s passion for helping others deal with this specific type of grief comes from a variety of personal experience of losing a loved one to suicide. They strongly believe in the power of conversation and use a variety of initiatives to spark conversations and encourage open dialogues around bereavement from suicide and mental health more generally. They focus on providing one-on-one professional support through talking therapies, through their Counselling Service and Helpline, which are staffed by bereavement counsellors.
Navigating suicide bereavement can be hard. Suicide loss is devastating and quite often adds complicated layers to the already difficult grieving process. Suicide & Co provide access to professional counsellors, through up to 12 free sessions of bereavement counselling, delivered online via video call or by telephone.
There are also lots of resources on their website to explore, which can support different aspects of the grief journey, including an app, Sidekick, which features:
Exercises and programs for sleep, anxiety, and stress reduction
Journaling with grief specific prompts
Book and podcast reviews specific to suicide related grief
Daily mood tracker
