Million people taking this suicide prevention course during lockdown

A million people have enrolled in a suicide prevention course during lockdown.

According to the Zero Suicide Alliance (opens in new tab), the organisation who runs the course, a million people have completed the suicide prevention module (opens in new tab) during the past few weeks.

Joe Rafferty, CBE, chairman of the organisation, said, “We probably won’t know the true impact of the last few weeks and months on society until it’s all over, but we do know the stress and worry of the coronavirus is bound to have impacted people’s mental health.

“Suicide is a serious public health issue and every single death by suicide devastates families, friends and communities. We know suicide isn’t inevitable and can be preventable, which is why reaching such an incredible landmark is a fantastic achievement and means a million people have now accessed the skills to help those who may be struggling.”

JOIN THE COURSE HERE: Zero Suicide Alliance training (opens in new tab)

“The stress and worry of the coronavirus is bound to have impacted people's mental health,” added Joe.

“Suicide is a serious public health issue and every single death by suicide devastates families, friends and communities.”

Steve Mallen, one of other founder members, who lost his 18-year-old son Edward to suicide in 2015, added, “Reaching a million people was one of the fundamental targets when we first started as an organisation.

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“When we lost Edward, I made a promise to myself and him that I wanted his death to mean something, to be a catalyst for change. It’s vitally important that those who followed him with suicidal thoughts are given better support, improved joined-up care and greater information and training is available so everyone knows how to approach someone who is struggling.

“Having a million people access the training is a fantastic landmark, but it’s also only a start and everyone at the ZSA wants to build on this so suicide no longer impacts society as it does today.”

“The stress and worry of the coronavirus is bound to have impacted people's mental health,” said the Zero Suicide Alliance’s Joe Rafferty.

“Suicide is a serious public health issue and every single death by suicide devastates families, friends and communities.”

It comes as Mental Health Awareness Week kicked off yesterday and mental health charities across the country do their best to promote a health mental state.

Charity mind shared a special video to their Instagram page to mark the important week, writing, ‘For Mental Health Awareness Week, starting today, it’s more important than ever that we use our own experiences to help each other.

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‘This is why we are encouraging you to reach out to someone who needs a friend with a positive message and make sure they don’t have to face this pandemic alone.

‘Together, we can get through this’.