Download document: Local suicide prevention funding - Samaritans Briefing Feb 2024
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Join us in calling on the Government to take real action
Every year, thousands of people die from suicide in England. Government action could help save many of these lives – but suicide rates in England are as high now as they were over 20 years ago. This is unacceptable. Saving lives can't wait: the time for action is now.
Join us now and let the Government know that suicide prevention can’t be done on the cheap. No more half-measures. No more compromises. No more underfunding. Together we can push the Government to take the ambitious action needed to drive suicide rates down to the lowest ever recorded.
It is great to see that the Government has responded to our calls for a new National Suicide Prevention Strategy in England. However, a plan without proper funding is like a car with no petrol - it may look great but it’s not going to get you where you need to be. At Samaritans we want to get to the point of achieving the lowest suicide rates ever recorded in this country, but this takes both money and ambition.
Julie Bentley, Samaritans CEO
People are feeling hopeless. The risk is they only see one way out, and that can be prevented with your help. You need to take action, and this campaign is vital. Let's take action together.
John Junior, campaigner with lived experience
Tens of thousands of you have stood up and told the Government they need to be doing more to save lives from suicide.
You’ve shared your experiences, you’ve got your MPs speaking in Parliament, and you’ve got your local councils to write to the Government. You’ve made it clear to politicians that the people who vote for them care about suicide prevention.
Together we called for the Government to renew local suicide prevention funding in their Autumn Statement, before it ends in March 2024.
This vital local suicide prevention funding was quietly being ended in England while the Government hoped that no-one would notice. But you helped us make the funding national news; 24 other suicide prevention and mental health charities backed the call in a joint letter; and Samaritans campaigners and volunteers met with MPs and councillors in an event outside Parliament.
We were deeply disappointed the Government made the decision not to include this vital funding in their budgeting plans in November, but we will keep pushing for the Government to provide proper funding for all local and national suicide prevention activity.
430.3 kb - PDF
Our Saving Lives Can’t Wait campaign is part of our wider work on influencing national and local suicide prevention strategies.
Find out more about our work influencing suicide prevention strategies here.
This campaign is focused on suicide prevention in England, but we work across the four nations of the UK and also in Ireland seeking to influence suicide prevention policy in a range of ways to achieve our mission that fewer people die by suicide.