Thread by @theCALMzone

This week @10DowningStreet announced the appointment of the UK’s first Minister for Suicide Prevention – a monumental move for CALM, everyone in this movement, and, importantly, everyone in the UK. Here's why, and how we got here. THREAD 👇

Around 6,000 lives are lost to #suicide in the UK every year. 76% of those are male, which makes suicide the biggest killer of men under 45.

Suicide has a huge emotional impact – on families, communities and on society as a whole. Government figures estimate the cost of each suicide at £1.67 million, but we know the real cost is the devastation each and every suicide leaves behind.

Alongside running a free helpline and webchat for those in need of support, CALM has been campaigning for more than a decade to reduce suicide in the UK.

We work daily with people bereaved by suicide who are passionate about saving lives, challenging a culture that can prevent people seeking help when life gets tough.

#Project84 was CALM’s most significant campaign ever. With the help of families bereaved by suicide, sculptor Mark Jenkins, ITV’s @thismorning, @harrys and @aandeddb we galvanised public awareness that every week in the UK, 84 men a week lose their lives to suicide.

Watch the recap here: bit.ly/CALMMsp2

As part of #Project84, we worked with Matthew Smith, who tragically lost his brother Dan to suicide, to launch a petition on @UKChange calling on government to deliver ministerial responsibility for suicide prevention and bereavement support. bit.ly/CALMMsp3t

The petition took off and garnered almost 400,000 signatures. The government listened, and CALM started working with Number 10 to create the role of a Minister for Suicide Prevention.

On #WorldMentalHealthDay we made real, monumental change. The Government answered CALM's call by appointing the UK's first ever Minister for Suicide Prevention, putting suicide firmly on the public agenda.

Here is Matthew talking about the news this week (SPOILER: He's chuffed.)

This is a huge step forward. To every single runner, campaigner, supporter, fundraiser, volunteer, retweeter, petition-signer and CALM rabble-raiser who made it possible: from all of us here, THANK YOU.

In a nutshell, we will continue to work with this new Minister to:
1) DESTIGMATISE the issue of suicide and its impact.
2) Bring people together to tackle this societal issue as a NATIONAL PRIORITY.
3) ACCELERATE and ELEVATE suicide prevention work which saves and changes lives.

Having a Minister for Suicide Prevention will help us work more effectively: By implementing quality standards for suicide prevention across the UK, building better understanding through data, and shining a light on the most impactful efforts to reduce suicide.

There is no quick-fix solution to the problem of suicide and the immense pain of bereavement, but this is a very important step forward. We won’t be slowing down the pressure to deliver anytime soon. 💪Onwards!