To mark World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September, we’re encouraging everyone across the business to seize the opportunity to have a conversation about some of the myths around suicide.
In this blog, released to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day, we discuss the importance of talking about suicide and how companies like Wates are supporting organisations such as the suicide prevention charity Papyrus, which aims to prevent suicide among young people.
Creating hope through action for World Suicide Prevention Day
As we approach World Suicide Prevention Day, we reflect on our involvement with our Mental Health and Suicide Prevention strategy; the progress we’ve made so far, and the opportunities that lie ahead
The theme of the day, as set by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) is ‘Creating Hope Through Action.’ At Wates, this is an opportunity for all of us to have conversations about suicide or to gain a better understanding of what lies behind suicide and what can prompt people in our industry to feel driven to taking their own lives
The theme of the day, as set by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) is ‘Creating Hope Through Action.’ At Wates, this is an opportunity for all of us to have conversations about suicide or to gain a better understanding of what lies behind suicide and what can prompt people in our industry to feel driven to taking their own lives
Wates and Papyrus
For several years, Wates has had a partnership with Papyrus, the charity focused on preventing young suicide, has and this has helped us to prompt discussion, for example through talks and training sessions hosted in our offices and sites.
We’ve been encouraging people to play their part in creating suicide safer communities, in which they can share their experiences openly, without fear of judgement. We also promote the charity’s ‘Hopeline’ 0800 068 4141 – a freephone contact number which people can call, in complete confidence.
The ripple of HOPE
Since we’ve been working with Papyrus, we’ve seen positive change extending well beyond our sites, creating a ripple of hope emanating from the projects.
Hosting talks with Papyrus has encouraged project teams, supply chain partners and customers to display the Hopeline UK number, making access to life saving support visible and accessible to those who may need it. On one of our projects, Hopeline had three enquiries within the first hour after we displayed its contact information on site hoarding.
So even simple actions like this can make a difference, and what we do is much more than just an initiative.
Funding suicide prevention in universities
As well as the Papyrus partnership we have joined forces with Kent University to sponsor a PhD research scholarship to look at suicide prevention in UK universities.
The scholarship is being awarded in the name of my son Rowan Wales, and the research is on ‘Mapping suicide prevention in the English higher education sector: A collaborative sensemaking approach.’
Our first scholar, Somayeh Shirazi, will begin her/his three-year research programme in September. Somayeh is an outstanding candidate with a genuine passion to positively impact on key social issues around the world. Suicide in higher education is one of the most challenging and complex social issues in health and wellbeing, and we hope that the PhD study will improve suicide prevention practices and processes within and across organisations, including Wates.
This research should help inform a range of industries, as well as higher education institutions.
The research, which is supported by both Wates and Papyrus will be supervised by Dr M. May Seitanidi and Dr Krystin Zigan, in collaboration with Universities UK (UUK), which represents 140 universities in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
We’ll be sharing our own experiences, practices and processes around dealing with, and preventing suicide, with Somayeh to help inform her research.
What you can do
Speak to each other about suicide and how we can do more to recognise the signs of a colleague who may be having suicidal thoughts and promote the Hopeline number 0800 068 4141.
You may be helping to save someone’s life.
