Head Space at Head Room: communal groups hold suicide prevention roundtable
"We are Saving Lives Everyday' discussion in Golders Green included The Jewish Leadership Council's Luciana Berger, mental health charity Jami and chair of the Suicide and Self Harm All Party Parliamentary Group Liz Twist MP
Leading communal organisations held a group discussion on suicide prevention at the Head Room cafe in Golders Green this week.
The ‘We Are Saving Lives Everyday’ roundtable included The Jewish Leadership Council (JLC), Jami and chair of the suicide and self harm All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Liz Twist MP.
It brought together voluntary, charity and social enterprise organisations who work on suicide prevention and sought to connect the sector with policy makers in Westminster.
Jami, as both a JLC member and Jewish communal organisation stressed that within the Jewish community any suicide death can have a significant ‘ripple effect’ in terms of other people’s mental health being impacted by the loss and people with existing thoughts of suicide being triggered by the news.
Attendees included representatives of Mind and Samaritans, Youth Mental Health Partnership, public health experts and MPs Charlotte Nichols and Dean Russell.
Luciana Berger, a former MP, current JLC vice-president and veteran mental health campaigner also participated.
Liz Twist MP, Chair of Suicide and Self Harm Prevention APPG said: “Today has been about sharing knowledge, sharing experience and learning from each other. And, most of all, improving things for people and reducing suicides as well. I think that Jami are doing an absolutely magnificent job in reaching out to the community and providing a whole range of services. It’s so important to be able to form those working connections.”
Claudia Mendoza, JLC co-CEO and coordinator of Youth Mental Health Network said: “Suicide affects so many people and it is important that leaders in the field can come together to share best practice.”
Philippa Carr, Jami’s education manager and suicide prevention lead said: “Charities based in the community have a specific sensitivity and understanding of the people they work with. We looked at the need to launch Jami’s Jewish Community Suicide Prevention programme and work with stakeholders to provide faith and culturally nuanced training and support.
“Communities, charities and all colleagues together can make a huge difference to people going through such acutely painful times. We hope the announcement of the DHSE (Department of Health and Social Care) funding for the sector together with the new national suicide prevention strategy will help services sustain and grow their much-needed work.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
