Tuesday the 10th of September is World Suicide Prevention Day.
With the sad passing of our former player, Chris Mitchell who sadly took his own life in 2016, suicide has effected a lot of people at the Club. In some ways it is fitting that on Saturday we take on Clyde, Chris' last club in the Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Cup.
On average two people die by suicide every day in Scotland. That’s tragic and preventable. We also know one in three people who take their own life have had no contact with any specialist services before they die. We need to change that dramatically.
Some key things to remember:-
- Sadly, the suicide rate went up in Scotland last year
- Never has it been more important to talk about how we are feeling
- One in three of us will experience poor mental health this year
- Know that help and support is available
- These new films provide practical advice
- If you are in crisis, the Samaritans are available 24/7 via 116 123
Football clubs across Scotland will be among the first to receive a new mental health and suicide prevention training resource for players, staff and community networks.
Funded by the Scottish Government and created by NHS Education for Scotland and NHS Health Scotland, the online resource will be shared with all 42 professional football clubs, along with 300 mental health first aiders working at around 80 football organisations throughout the country.
It will also be shared across all junior, youth, women’s, amateur and para-football leagues and clubs, reaching around 190,000 players.
The training, which is part of the Scottish Government’s Suicide Prevention Action Plan, will also be distributed to all local authorities and will be included in NHS health board workforce development planning from June 2019.
Mental Health Minister Clare Haughey said: “We must ensure that mental health is given parity with physical health, and our new online resource is a significant step and a key part of our suicide prevention plan, which aims to reduce suicide in Scotland by 20% by 2022.
“We want to create a Scotland where suicide is preventable, and where anyone contemplating suicide or who has lost a loved one gets the support they need. I’d like to thank the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and the Scottish FA who will be among the first to make this available to players and staff.
“I’d also like to thank Scotland’s councils for their commitment to take this training to almost 250,000 local authority workers across the country. Our approach recognises the need to work together across sectors and organisations to identify and support people in distress, strengthen communities, and save lives.”
Neil Doncaster, SPFL chief executive, added: “The SPFL and its clubs are proud to be able to play a part in this ground-breaking initiative. It’s vital that mental health issues are given the prominence they deserve, and that more people are encouraged to seek the support and treatment they require.”
SPFL Trust chief executive Nicky Reid, who also sits on the Scottish Government’s National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group, said: “We are happy that Scottish football is able to support the dissemination of this new suicide prevention training resource to our clubs across the country.
“Every football club in Scotland has now participated in our programme of mental health first aid training, with nearly 400 now trained in our partnership with the Chris Mitchell Foundation and Positive Mental Health Scotland.
“We’re also pleased with the progress of our ongoing pilot projects with Hibernian, Heart of Midlothian, Movember Foundation and SAMH which have delivered The Changing Room – our project supporting football fans who are at risk of poor mental health by creating a safe space within their clubs. We are working with SAMH to look at ways to expand this programme.
“Our commitment to the wellbeing of staff, players, and supporters has never been stronger.”
A short series of five minute animations designed to inform people about the importance of conversations around mental health have been produced by The Scottish Government & NHS Scotland. They can be found via Twitter and Facebook.
On Twitter The links are:
Look after your mental health: https://studio.twitter.com/library/13_1151537905690697730
Have a conversation about mental health: https://studio.twitter.com/library/13_1151538620634980352
Every life matters: https://studio.twitter.com/library/13_1151538929734213634
And on Facebook, friendly versions of all 3 films can be found at the link below.
These can be found in this folder: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4jqxs2w59bo2jcd/AAD5UoNKT7p43jLAhlyDyi0da?dl=0
Football recognises that poor mental health could affect us all - fans, players, coaches, backroom staff, volunteers, administrators; our communities. We fundamentally believe that suicide is everyone’s business.
Together, we can reach hundreds of thousands of people!