World Suicide Prevention Day, 10th September 2022

The 10^th September is World Suicide Prevention Day.

With the number of cases dramatically rising, it’s more important than ever to reach out.

As well as looking after our own mental health, we may have dependents that are struggling. Ray Perrin, Electrical Technician (Shift Leader) at Allen & Overy bravely shared his story with us to help raise awareness.

Ray now works in partnership with the charity Papyrus to prevent this from happening to others.

“Hi, I’m Ray.

For World Suicide Prevention Day, I’d like to raise the uneasy subject of suicidal thoughts in young people.

In March 2008, my son Ben took his own life at the age of 14. None of his family or friends had a clue that he was thinking of suicide. It devastated my wife and I, his elder brother and sister, family and friends, and has left a scar in our lives that can never be healed.

He was a normal fun loving, cheeky boy, always looking out for the next adventure, pushing the boundaries, striving for independence from Mum and Dad, but not ready for life without us, and generally thinking he knew it all. I think you parents can relate to that!

When we were in our teens, we thought we knew everything and that our parents didn’t have a clue about life or understood us. Think back to when we were going through those turbulent young adult years. Puberty, parents, school, college/ university, work and exams, peer pressure, bullying, and sibling rivalry to name a few.

Add to that the extra pressures on young people today who also have social media and the craze of influencers who pressure us into wanting to have the latest, most expensive new thing. This has caused some alarming statistics:

• Suicide is the biggest killer of under 35’s.
• Over 200 school age children are lost to suicide every year.
• Around ¾ of those are boys, or young men.

Life as a young person IS tough! These issues can, and do, have a massive impact on young people’s Mental Health. It’s also tough for the families and friends who try to protect, guide, and watch over them, and keep them safe for little or no appreciation.

I do voluntary work for a charity called Papyrus, The prevention of young suicides: https://www.papyrus-uk.org/.

Papyrus was set up by a group of parents who lost their children to suicide, the youngest being 9, and the eldest 35.

Their website has a large range of advice for people who know of a young person struggling with suicidal thoughts, and for young people who are contemplating taking their own lives.

They run a telephone help line that’s open every day called THE HOPE LINE: 0800 0684141.

If you don’t feel you can talk, you can text them on 07860 039967. Click here for further details.

Papyrus has helped 3 of Ben’s friends who were having thoughts of suicide.

Thank you for your time.”

Ray will also be taking part in the ‘3 Dads Walking’ challenge in October. The aim is to walk between the parliaments of the 4 nations to attempt to get suicide awareness into the school curriculum.

For more information, visit https://www.3dadswalking.uk/.