A suicide charity in the West Midlands say calls to their helpline have tripled in the two months leading up to December.
In the lead up to this year’s festivities, the SOS Silence of Suicide call centre received 16,500 calls – up from 5,600 calls during the same period of October and November last year.
The charity provides a safe, confidential space for people who are experiencing poor emotional health and having suicidal thoughts and this Christmas, they’ve released an advert and charity single encouraging people to reach out if they’re struggling.
CEO, Yvette Greenway-Mansfield, told GB News that money has been a large factor in the rise in calls.
A suicide charity in the West Midlands say calls to their helpline have tripled in the two months leading up to December
GB News
She said: “What we’re finding at the moment is financial problems are coming up a lot. That isn’t really surprising.
“In this day and age, sadly, there are a lot of people that are really struggling financially generally, but then you add Christmas into that.
“People who can’t give because they simply don’t have the means to do that, they’re already feeling, disillusioned and down, but we’re all expected to smile and behave like everything’s okay and there’s no worries.”
Their charity song, Find Your Light, was written by Lorna Hackett and performed by Bournemouth’s Resonate! Choir and singers Marsha Webbe and Ava Mason–Allen.
Lorna is a trustee of the charity and described to GB News the process of putting the song together.
She said: “What I wanted to do is capture some of the essence of the holiday season, whilst also acknowledging that for quite a lot of people, not everybody’s having a great time.
“So it was about trying to show those people who might might be struggling at this time of year, for whatever reason, that there were also reasons to be hopeful.”
The charity hopes the advert can raise money for training volunteer call handlers and more mobile wellbeing hubs they can take into communities to offer mental health support.
Peter Goddard lost his daughter to suicide in 2019 and as a Director of the Valour Foundation, supports the organisation.
He told GB News: “What you might be suffering from isn’t something that necessarily you need to go through on your own, and you should be unafraid about coming forwards and admitting a condition which really you don’t have any control over.
“The more you suffer in silence, the more likely you are to suffer.”
If you’re struggling with your mental health this Christmas, you can call SOS Silence of Suicide on 0808 115 1505.
If you would like to donate to support the charity, click here.
