Papyrus: Prevention of Young Suicide
Suicide is the biggest killer of young people in the UK.
Every year we lose around 200 teenagers to suicide.
The national charity PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide believes many of those suicides are preventable.
The charity aims to reduce the number of young people who take their own lives by breaking down the stigma around suicide and equipping people with the skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour.
“Contrary to what people may think, talking openly about suicide doesn’t increase the risk by putting the idea into a young person’s head. Instead, it gives them a safe space in which to talk openly about how they feel and discuss what help they need,” says PAPYRUS’ Chief Executive, Ged Flynn.
“Suicide is very complex and rarely the result of single factor, so it is important that a child or a young person who is having thoughts of suicide gets professional help and advice which can help to keep them safe.”
PAPYRUS runs a confidential helpline service which provides practical advice and support to young people and anyone who is concerned about a young person who may be having thoughts of suicide.
HOPELINE247 is staffed by trained professionals, offering a telephone, text and email service.
The charity depends on public generosity, donations and fundraising. Every £7 can potentially help to save a young life. Money also helps the charity to provide suicide- prevention projects in local communities across the UK, supports a network of volunteers and helps to deliver training to groups and individuals.
“PAPYRUS was founded in 1997 by a small group of parents who had been bereaved by suicide. Their aim was to prevent other families going through the agony and heartbreak of losing a child to suicide,” added Mr Flynn.
“Twenty seven years on and our ethos remains exactly the same. We need to get families to talk openly about suicide, smash the stigma and have conversations which allow a child or a young person to talk about how they feel.”
Every year energetic fundraisers walk, run, cycle, climb, swim and even skip to collect money. The brave ones parachute out of aeroplanes and abseil down cliffs and tall buildings.
Three fathers who each lost a daughter to suicide have raised more than a million pounds for PAPYRUS.
Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen, better known as the 3 Dads Walking, attracted national and international publicity by taking part in three marathon walks in 2021, 2022 and again in 2024.
They were walking in memory of their daughters 17-year-old Beth Palmer, 19-year- old Emily Owen and Sophie Airey who was aged 29.
Their mission is to raise money and raise awareness but also to get suicide prevention included in the school curriculum.
Andy Airey said: “The fact that suicide is the biggest killer of young people in the UK is both a tragedy and a national scandal which needs to be addressed.
“Our walks provided a focus for continuing the conversation with governments about embedding suicide prevention in the school curriculum. Young people want to know more about mental wellbeing and where to get help and schools have a vital role to play in saving young lives.“
Mike Palmer added: “The work PAPYRUS does is so vitally important. We all need to talk about suicide. We also need to equip our young people with life-skills which they can carry through the rest of their lives to protect themselves and others.”
Tim Owen said: PAPYRUS works across all four nations and so it made sense for us to walk across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England where the seats of power can unlock this and potentially save lives.”
Every week the charity receives hundreds of calls, texts and emails. Many of those contacts are from children who have found the strength to get help.
PAPYRUS’ Chief Executive Ged Flynn added:
“It shows such wonderful resilience that children, who have been unable to talk to anyone, are able to reach out and speak to us and share how bewildered and frightened they are.
“It is also wonderful that parents, family members and friends who are concerned about a young person contact us because they want to intervene and seize the opportunity to get them the professional support and advice they need.”
Everything you need to know about PAPYRUS, including valuable resources which can be downloaded, can be found on the charity’s website: www.papyrus-uk.org.
For practical, confidential suicide prevention help and advice please contact PAPYRUS HOPELINE247 on 0800 068 4141, text 88247 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org.