Download document: Local suicide prevention funding - Samaritans Briefing Sept 2023
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Join us in calling on the Government to take real action
Every year, thousands of people die from suicide in England. Government action could help save many of these lives – but suicide rates in England are as high now as they were 20 years ago. This is unacceptable. Saving lives can't wait: the time for action is now.
Suicide prevention funding that local communities in England rely on is ending at the same time as the Government has committed to reduce suicide rates through their new national strategy. This just doesn’t add up.
Join us now and let the Government know that suicide prevention can’t be done on the cheap. No more half-measures. No more compromises. No more underfunding. Together we can push the Government to take the ambitious action needed to drive suicide rates down to the lowest ever recorded.
Support the campaign: save community funding
It is great to see that the Government has responded to our calls for a new National Suicide Prevention Strategy in England. However, a plan without proper funding is like a car with no petrol - it may look great but it’s not going to get you where you need to be. At Samaritans we want to get to the point of achieving the lowest suicide rates ever recorded in this country, but this takes both money and ambition. It is disappointing that the new strategy’s ambition on cutting suicide rates does not match our own but the Chancellor at least has the opportunity to deliver the much-needed funding in his November Budget. Saving lives is always the best possible investment.
Julie Bentley, Samaritans CEO
Read our blog to find out more about the local funding that's coming to an end:
How the end of local funding could spell disaster for suicide prevention
We are calling on the government in England to:
- Aim to achieve the lowest national suicide rate ever recorded, through strong, decisive action.
- Make sure every Government department takes responsibility for the impact they may have on suicide risk.
- Provide proper funding for all local and national suicide prevention activity.
- Address the impact of economic inequality in suicide.
- Work closely together with local government.
People are feeling hopeless. The risk is they only see one way out, and that can be prevented with your help. You need to take action, and this campaign is vital. Let's take action together.
John Junior, campaigner with lived experience
Our Saving Lives Can’t Wait campaign is part of our wider work on influencing national and local suicide prevention strategies.
Find out more about our work influencing suicide prevention strategies here.
This campaign is focused on suicide prevention in England, but we work across the four nations of the UK and also in Ireland seeking to influence suicide prevention policy in a range of ways to achieve our mission that fewer people die by suicide.