Get

Ready …

 

HOPElineUK

Launch date

9 September

2005 - to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day.

HM Prison Service Safer Custody Group has now printed and distributed the first batch of ‘Need2Talk?’ – a new resource produced by PAPYRUS for male juveniles.

Silence is not golden

 

Reporting on the inquest into the death of Michael Chan, a brilliant chemistry student at Imperial College London, and highlighting the difficult issue of confidentiality, journalist Simon Crompton  in The Times ( May 21st 2005)  said: ‘He had been treated for depression for months and his GP had prescribed anti-depressants. But the first his parents knew was his death and suicide note. The sad case of Michael Chan throws up a more subtle challenge for doctors and universities. How must it feel for the parents of a child who has committed suicide to think that if only they had known what the doctor knew, they might have been able to do something ?

The theme of the booklet is coping with negative feelings, and it is designed to promote well-being, and to help prevent / manage self-harm and suicidal feelings.

The design and graphics are aimed at meeting the needs of juvenile prisoners - with the right level of literacy, suitable images, and appropriate coping strategies. The final product was heavily influenced by design workshops held at YOI Stoke Heath, involving both staff and young men.

The images are eye-catching, and many are hand-drawn – the idea was to avoid something that looked too ‘glossy’ or official.


Anna Sedenu - Communications Manager / Safer Custody Group said:

‘It's hoped that the new resource, which provides reassurance and

Text Box: CONFIDENTIALITY

Need2talk has been released

Tony Cox, the Co-ordinator of PAPYRUS, a charity that aims to prevent young suicides,

believes that health professionals can sometimes hide behind the confidentiality issue because they haven’t time to confront the problem.

“They could go further in talking to young people about the types of support available, and how to approach their parents,” he says. “When you consider the consequences, confidentiality about a student’s mental health is very different from other areas, such as contraception”

practical ideas of how to cope with 'feeling low', will make a real contribution to suicide prevention. 20,000 booklets have been printed, and copies were sent
to Suicide Prevention Co-ordinators at all Young Offender Institutions which take male juveniles (13 in total) in March.’


1,000 matching posters and evaluation questionnaires have also been circulated to YOIs. We’ll keep you posted on any feedback from the prisons concerned.