Suicide Down to Zero

SUICIDE DOWN TO ZERO WAS SET UP IN APRIL 2014 AS AN INDEPENDENT ORGANISATION TO CAMPAIGN FOR AN END TO SUICIDE IN OUR DISTRICT.

We became a recognized charity in May 2015.We have a Board made up of 9 people (survivors, suicide attempt survivors, suicide prevention activists and those with a professional background in helping) bringing together a wealth of knowledge, skills & experience alongside specific beliefs about suicide and its prevention.

We believe that the only acceptable target for suicide deaths is zero. Initially we campaigned at Department of Health and senior Public Health Agency levels but reverted to a “ground up” community development approach – “think big, start small & scale fast.

We believe that the only acceptable goal for suicide prevention is zero suicide deaths.  We advocate on behalf of individuals who have difficulty accessing help for themselves or others in situations involving thoughts of suicide.  We provide training to improve understanding around suicide prevention and provide suicide alertness and intervention skills workshops. At heart we are a campaigning charity who no longer accept the things we cannot change.  We are changing the things we cannot accept.

After local government reform in 2015, we expanded our focus from Down district to the new Newry Mourne and Down Council area. We campaigned for Council the new to adopt a suicide down to zero approach in the district which they did in 2019.

One of the other things we tried to influence was the lack of public/community information about suicide. When unsuccessful at convincing Government to mount a public information campaign we sourced and adapted our own (Art of Conversation etc.).

 We could not ignore the gaps in training provision or postvention support. We now provide ASIST & safe TALK trainings and facilitate peer support to survivors – following suicide death. We have also enabled survivors to connect with each at our annual Hope and Healing events. In the past we have provided survivor support group(s) and hope to do so in the future. We also have small budgets for talking therapy for people in crisis and for practical postvention support (examples: – assistance to family who had property destroyed during a suicide and helping a   young survivor secure accommodation)

Although our operational base is Downpatrick, we have a presence across the district with good links to Sports clubs businesses and other charities/organizations.