What is World Suicide Prevention Day?
Every year on 10 September, organisations and communities around the world come together to raise awareness about how we can work together to create a world where fewer people die by suicide.
On September 10th this year, North Wales Police organised an outdoor event at Pontcysyllte aqueduct in Trevor. The aqueduct is an engineering masterpiece and the aqueduct and canal are a World Heritage Site, however the aqueduct also has been the location of a number of suicides over recent years.
Outreach volunteers from Chester and District Samaritans, along with volunteers from Papyrus, The KIM Foundation, Advance Brighter Futures and Mind gathered near the aqueduct to raise awareness and hand out literature and contact details to the public and tourists visiting the aqueduct.
Visitors meet volunteers at the event.
A local artist was also in attendance, decorating stones with the Samaritans phone number, and those of other agencies. These have been left around the site to spread positive messages, as well as contact details for those in need of someone to talk with.
A message of love for those in need.
Getting out the message that Samaritans are there for those who need to talk.
A sudden downpour towards the end of the event did little to dampen the enthusiasm of the volunteers in attendance to get the message out that when people are having a bad time, there is always someone there they can turn to.
There has recently been data released regarding a surge in suicide rates across the UK, so it is vital that we support suicide prevention and promote the services that we offer. As the aqueduct is a hot spot for suicides, Chester and District Samaritans are doing all we can to work closely with the Police and local community to reduce the number of suicides from this aqueduct.
You can find more detail on World Suicide Prevention Day and Samaritans national campaign at
Image of Pontcysyllte courtesy of Wikimedia commons.
