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Earlier this year North Somerset Council joined the Zero Suicide Alliance, a collaboration of National Health Service trusts, charities, businesses and individuals who are all committed to suicide prevention.
The Zero Suicide Alliance offers free online training, which only takes around 20 minutes to complete and can be done at any time on a phone, tablet or computer. The training aims to help people have conversations with friends and family about suicide and supports them to help others who may be having suicidal thoughts, directing them to sources of support.
North Somerset Council along with partners across the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire region are calling for 10,000 people to complete this free suicide prevention training.
Cllr Mike Bell, Deputy Leader of North Somerset Council and Executive Member with responsibility for health, said: “We need to break the stigma attached to talking about suicide so we can have open and honest conversation with our loved ones.
“Suicide is a tragedy. It’s also preventable. And we can all do something to potentially help save a life. This free training from the Zero Suicide Alliance will help you identify when someone’s presenting with suicidal thoughts or behaviour, be able to speak to them in a supportive way and signpost them to the correct services or support.
“The training is free and only takes about 20 minutes to do. That’s 20 minutes which could help you save someone’s life in the future. I’d really encourage everyone to do it.”
To do the training go to www.zerosuicidealliance.com/training. For more information about free mental health training courses in North Somerset go to http://ns-pmhtraining.eventbrite.com/