Andy Le Seelleur said the while the pandemic had caused a number of mental-health challenges for some individuals, it had also led to the launch of many positive initiatives.
Earlier this week, more than 40 Islanders attended the online launch of Jersey’s Suicide Prevention Alliance.
Mr Le Seelleur and Ronan Mulhern were inspired to create the alliance following a Thrive Jersey event – which focused on tackling suicide and addiction – in October 2019.
‘There’s an underlying expectation or fear that suicide rates have rocketed. We were quite keen to point out [on Monday] that research in the UK and internationally shows no overall increase in suicide rates during the first lockdown. It’s really important to reassure people that it’s not all doom and gloom.
‘Over the course of the last 18 months, we have seen some really good initiatives in Jersey including Mind Jersey’s helpline, the Recovery College’s suicide-awareness courses and the Listening Lounge, which acts as a fantastic resource for a lot of people.
‘On the other end, lockdown wasn’t kind to a number of people. It’s uncertain how long this pandemic will last and we can’t take our eye off the ball. It’s really a case of keeping everyone alert and aw-
are of the issues and risks.
‘One of the outcomes we identified [from the 2019 Thrive event] was that there isn’t enough of a joined-up approach when it comes to tackling suicide in the Island,’ said Mr Le Seelleur, who is also the founder of mental-health organisation Thrive Jersey. ‘There’s a National Suicide Prevention Alliance and we felt it would be beneficial to organise something similar in Jersey.’
Monday’s free introductory event for Jersey’s Suicide Prevention Alliance was open to all local organisations, charities and individuals interested in the subject.
‘We had a really good mix of people from parishes, charities and people in the health service to individuals who were interested in the subject and wanted to get involved,’ said Mr Le Seelleur. ‘We want to become a membership, with contacts in each of the 12 parishes, corporate bodies, church groups and organisations.’
The alliance hopes to act as a network for sharing knowledge and expertise to help the Jersey community to address factors which increase the risk of suicide.
Mr Le Seelleur explained that the group would carry out projects focused on three main areas – suicide awareness, prevention and bereavement support – which had been identified as key when it came to preventing further suicides.
‘Bereavement is a big one,’ said Mr Le Seelleur. ‘If there is an unfortunate sudden death, it’s really important that there is a proactive response within three or four days. We want to effect more coordination in that area so that whatever traumatic incident has happened to someone in Jersey, there can be a team to go out and make sure their needs are looked after.’
Mr Le Seelleur, whose wife Monika took her own life in 2016, added: ‘I know from personal experience that those first three or four days are absolutely horrendous. It helps if you can haver a team wrapping their arms around you and making sure you are ok.
‘Another thing we’re passionate about is mental-health support for frontline staff, particularly when they’ve been under a lot of stress. We want to focus on providing emergency services with the best information and practice. There’s great work going on, but with Covid-19 happening a lot of people are distracted with other issues. We can’t let these support networks fall through.’
