suicide prevention Archives - IMHN - Independent Mental Health NetworkIMHN

December 3, 2020 at 10:00 am

[Content note; this article contains references to bereavement by suicide]

IMHN, in partnership with the Community Access Support Service (CASS) Bristol, are hosting a set of workshop sessions looking at improving what support is available to people who have been bereaved by suicide in the local area.

We will be looking at what is working well in support that is currently available, what could be improved, and where there are gaps in what services people are able to access.

There will be three sessions. Click the links below to be taken to the event pages to sign up and book your place.

We have also launched a survey, asking people in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire about their experiences of bereavement support. Click here to access the survey.

December 3, 2020 at 10:00 am

December 20, 2019 at 7:09 pm

Thank you to everyone that attended the Summit. You can keep up to date with our work in this area here.

In partnership with civic and healthcare authorities across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, the Independent Mental Health Network (‘IMHN’) are proud to announce the upcoming Suicide Prevention Summit.

The Summit will take place as part of the Shine On Suicide Prevention Campaignon Monday 13 January 2020 at City Hall, College Green Bristol.

The aim of the Summit will be to agree a clear call-to-action on working together to prevent suicide, providing space and opportunities for both people with lived experience of mental health, and from within wider communities, to help shape this.

IMHN CEO Tom Renhard, said:

“We feel it is vital to be creating spaces for community groups and individuals with lived experience that are leading the fight to prevent suicide and self-harm across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, to come together and play a crucial role in how this work develops.

We are supporting a wider regional ambition to reduce the number of people taking their own lives and doing that requires a grassroots approach as well as support from senior leadership. One life lost is one too many, and there is plenty for us all to do to ensure people know there is support available out there and play a role in improving things for the future.”

Cllr Asher Craig, Deputy Mayor and Bristol City Council Cabinet member for Communities, said:

“It is vital that we work with other organisations to help prevent suicide by offering the right support at the right time to those who need it.

“Of equal importance is listening to people who have felt suicidal, and to the families and communities that have been impacted by suicide. This lived experience can help us shape mental health services and ensure no one in Bristol is unsupported.’’

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (‘BNSSG CCG’) will be sharing details of the all-age mental health strategy currently being developed for the area, which will be published in 2020.

Julia Ross, Chief Executive Officer of BNSSG CCG, said:

“Suicide is preventable rather than inevitable, and every person that takes their own life is one too many.

We are delighted to be working with people and partners across the area, including those with lived experience of mental ill health and self-harm, to tackle this together. Creating the right support network for people at risk of suicide requires a combined effort – from the NHS, councils, community and voluntary groups, families and others.

The summit will play a key role in joining this up, so that people can get the support they need, when they need it.”

The event programme will also consider the latest research into suicide prevention, work happening nationally, and a focus on initiatives and stories by people in the local area. We will also be inviting attendees to share their experiences and ideas about suicide prevention, stating what role communities should be playing in this work going forwards.

Because of the range of individuals and organisations expected to attend, spaces are limited. Please visit to book an individual free place.

Please direct any queries to engagement[@]imhn.org.

Notes for Editors

What is the Shine On Campaign?

Shine On is a campaign focussing on suicide prevention across the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, tackling suicide via a variety of initiatives; including a community grant scheme, the Suicide Prevention Innovation Fund.

The campaign is delivered by a partnership of organisations including Bristol, North Somerset & South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, Bristol City Council, North Somerset Council, South Gloucestershire Council, Community Access & Support Service (CASS), Second Step, and the Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN).

What is the Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN)?

IMHN is a member-led organisation that work both for and in the interests of people with lived experience of mental health. We support work improving local mental health services, contribute and campaign on mental health matters happening both locally and nationally, and actively challenge mental health stigma by working with partner organisations.

Why is the Shine On campaign, and the Summit being run for the Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire area?

In 2017, NHS England allocated an amount of money to address the higher than average suicide rate in the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire area. This fund is managed by the BNSSG Suicide Prevention Transformation Fund Working Group, and funds initiatives such as Second Step’s Hope Project, local campaigning and awareness raising, and more. This Working Group is supporting IMHN in delivering this campaign.

Who are the partners of the campaign?

This campaign is supported by the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Suicide Prevention Transformation Working Group. The Working Group is a partnership of local organisations that aim to address the higher-than-average rate of suicide across the local area. The group consists of:

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
Bristol City Council
Bristol North Somerset & South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (BNSSG CCG)
Community Access Support Service (CASS)
Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN)
North Somerset Council
Public Health England
Second Step
South Gloucestershire Council
University of Bristol
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

Where Can I Get More Information?

the campaign website can be found at www.shine-on.life
for further enquiries, please email engagement[@]imhn.org

December 20, 2019 at 7:09 pm

December 6, 2019 at 5:19 pm

Content note; please note that this piece contains discussions of suicide and self-harm.

The Suicide Prevention Innovation Fund, launched by IMHN in the run up to Shine On (a campaign about working together to prevent suicide) back in September 2019. The fund was launched to support local groups whose work helps to prevent suicide and self-harm across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (‘BNSSG’).

We were delighted to receive a large variety of applications from a number of local groups across the area, with some original initiatives concerning suicide prevention. Many of these have already taken place – you can read about what went on here.

Due to the success of the fund, IMHN and the Shine On campaign are excited to launch a second round of funding, for initiatives taking place into the new year of 2020.

About the Fund

The Suicide Prevention Innovation Fund supports local groups whose work helps to prevent suicide and self-harm across the BNSSG area. In particular, we are looking for imaginative and innovative projects which aim to reduce the numbers of suicides in:

middle aged men
men and women aged 16-25
BAME communities
LGBTQ+ communities
Disabled communities

This innovation grant is available to support new or emerging projects. They can benefit from a small pot of funding that is intended to support initiatives that prevent suicides and reduce self-harm in the BNSSG area.

Applicants can apply for one-off funding grants of up to £250 towards their project (or up to £500 where it is across BNSSG).

How do I apply and when is the closing date?

The application form can be found here. Completed application forms need to be submitted to: engagement[@]imhn.org (removing the brackets from that email address).

Any applications will be considered in the order that they are received; please therefore send your application in as soon as you can, as interest is high.

December 6, 2019 at 5:19 pm

November 6, 2019 at 5:14 pm

Press Release: Announcing Shine On

The Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN), with the support of its branches and partner organisations, are proud to announce the launch of Shine On, a campaign about working together to prevent suicide. The campaign will initially run over the winter period of 2019 to 2020, sparking conversations and opportunities to get involved in suicide prevention initiatives across the local areas of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

The campaign will feature a range of events and activities exploring the complex topic of suicide, and how we can work together to prevent it. We will be discussing how we can move forward together with effective suicide prevention work, and how we can contribute to the wider conversation about the stigma that still surrounds mental health and suicide generally.

A booklet has also been produced in hard copy and digital format. It will be distributed across the campaign area, giving details of local mental health services and helplines, different lived experience perspectives of suicide prevention, and more information about the series of events.

Tom Renhard, CEO of IMHN, said

We want to bring people together to work more closely on suicide prevention. It is humbling to see how many organisations, community groups and individuals are signing up to get involved.

As someone who has experienced bereavement by suicide, I know how vital this work is and the difference it can make. By working together, we can enable more initiatives to flourish and support a wider regional ambition to reduce the number of people taking their own lives. One life lost is one too many, and there is plenty for us all to do to ensure people know there is support available out there.

Justine, chair of IMHN’s North Somerset Branch (Clarity-NSIMHN), said

Bereavement from suicide is deeply affective, both on an individual level, and as the ripples spread out through any community or network. The gaps left by those dying by suicide never go away.

Locally, Clarity-NSIMHN have roles in suicide prevention work and are collaborating with other partners to identify ways that may reduce deaths by suicide.

As IMHN’s North Somerset branch, we wish to shine a light on suicide and work together to prevent it.

Notes for Editors

What is the Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN)?

IMHN are a member-led organisation that work for and in the interests of people with lived experience of mental health. We support work improving local mental health services, contribute and campaign on mental health matters happening both locally and nationally, and actively challenge mental health stigma by working with partner organisations.

Why is the campaign being run in the Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire area?

When will the campaign run until?

The campaign is ongoing over the winter months of 2019 into 2020. There will be a number of events taking place late November 2019, with activities continuing to run until January 2020.

What is the Suicide Prevention Innovation Fund?

As part of this campaign, £4500 is being distributed via a seed fund for local organisations and individuals to run their own event or initiative that combats suicide and related mental difficulties in some way. We are pleased to announce that a number of successful bids have been already made. You can find out more about the fund and its future here.

Who are the partners of the campaign?

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
Bristol City Council
Bristol North Somerset & South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (BNSSG CCG)
Community Access Support Service (CASS)
Independent Mental Health Network (IMHN)
North Somerset Council
Public Health England
Second Step
South Gloucestershire Council
University of Bristol
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust

Where Can I Get More Information?

the campaign website can be found at www.shine-on.life
for further enquiries, please contact Ali at ali[at]imhn.org, or engagement[at]imhn.org

November 6, 2019 at 5:14 pm

October 4, 2019 at 12:38 pm

This news item was originally posted in October 2019. Since then, we are pleased to announce the launch of the Shine On campaign and the completion of a number of initiatives funded by the Suicide Prevention Innovation Fund, with more to come in the coming months. To stay up to date, visit the Shine On website!

Content note; please note that this piece contains discussions of suicide and self-harm.

As part of work taking place in the South West to combat early deaths by suicide, the Bristol branch of the Independent Mental Health Network (BIMHN) is supporting the Suicide Prevention Innovation Fund. This will form part of a suicide prevention campaign later this year, taking place Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

The fund has been launched to support local groups whose work helps to prevent suicide and self-harm across the local area. Events, initiatives and activities in support of this aim can benefit from funding of up to £250 (or £500 if the event takes place across the three areas).

You can read more about the launch of the fund here. Watch out for more updates and information about the upcoming main campaign, coming soon!

More information about BIMHN’s work on Suicide Prevention

This Winter’s campaign, and the Suicide Prevention Innovation Fund discussed here, has been initiated by the Bristol North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (‘BNSSG’) Suicide Prevention Transformation Fund Group. This group has been in operation since May 2018. The group manages an amount of money, allocated by NHS England, to address the issue of a relatively high suicide rate across the local Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP).

The group has already funded campaigning activities and initiatives such as the Hope Project, working to reduce suicide in men.

The Bristol branch of IMHN, BIMHN, sends two representatives to the group meetings, both of whom have lived experience of suicide. Other partners of the group include Bristol City Council, BNSSG Clinical Commissioning Group, Community Access Support Service Bristol, and South Gloucestershire Council.

October 4, 2019 at 12:38 pm