It is estimated that there are over 700,000 suicides worldwide each year.
Last weekend, the Jersey Suicide Prevention Alliance lit the Fort Regent dome purple on the evenings of Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 September to raise awareness of the effects of suicide.
Sunday 10 September was World Suicide Prevention Day and “Creating Hope Through Action” is the triennial theme for 2021-2023. This theme serves as a powerful call to action and a reminder that there is an alternative to suicide and that, through our actions, we can encourage hope and strengthen awareness within our community.
The Jersey Suicide Prevention Alliance (JSPA), an initiative created by Thrive Jersey, is developing a community-led suicide awareness and prevention initiative in collaboration with government and mental health services. The objectives of the JSPA are:
- To develop a community-wide initiative to reduce the number of islanders lost to suicide each year, through participation in an ongoing government-led initiative to develop a new five-year prevention strategy.
- To raise awareness throughout the community and to strengthen the community’s role as the first line of defence in suicide prevention
- To develop a greater understanding of local factors linked to suicide
- To explore overseas initiatives and build a strong network of expertise from which to draw in developing the local strategy
- To create a youth suicide prevention advocacy network, funded by a grant from the Jersey Community Foundation’s Kezia Fund, which will train and support up to 120 young people to act as beacons for conversation within secondary schools and friendship peer groups.
Additionally, The Alliance is in the planning stages of creating a memorial sculpture with local artist Nick Romeril and would like to invite those members of the Jersey community who have been bereaved by suicide to be part of the team who will design and commission the sculpture.
A spokesperson for the JSPA noted: “Just one sudden death can have a huge impact on so many people and in a small community like ours, the impact is significantly increased. It is vital that the whole community becomes our first line of defence through greater awareness, understanding and action. Additionally, we know that following a bereavement in these circumstances, there is a significant desire for friends, family and colleagues to get involved in prevention-related initiatives. We want to create a community of hope from loss and the memorial initiative is a wonderful way to be involved.”
Anyone interested in finding out more about the alliance or who wishes to be part of the team designing the sculpture should email Andy Le Seelleur at or via the Thrive Jersey website.
Thrive Jersey and the Jersey Suicide Prevention Alliance would like to thank the Fort Regent for lighting up the dome to raise awareness on World Suicide Prevention Day.
Picture Credit: James Bedding, Quad Photography
