A small group from the Stockport branch are facilitators for suicide prevention workshops organised by Stockport Council.
The Council Public Health Department advertises free training to all of the council departments, health organisations, charities, schools, and other public services in Stockport, and the council undertakes all the administration for each workshop. As a result, there is a huge variety of people who come along, most motivated because they come across people through their work who are suicidal.
We hold two to three workshops a month, either online or face-to-face, and there are, on average, 12 to 15 attendees. The workshop lasts 2 ½ hours and has been created by a suicide prevention organisation led by clinicians called Connecting with People. This is not a Samaritans workshop, but we are trained and licensed annually by CWP to undertake the facilitation. The materials and structure are very effective in giving people data about suicide and approaches to prevention, including intervening with people at risk.
We’ve found participating to be very worthwhile, with great feedback and a sense of really making a difference in how all these people will act when supporting someone suicidal.