A suicide prevention charity on the Isle of Man is urging the community to get involved in its training and support services to help reduce the number of suicides on the island.

Isle Stand Up to Suicide, a Manx-registered charity, offers training to help individuals recognise and support those experiencing suicidal thoughts.

It is now appealing for community groups and volunteers to take part in its initiatives to extend the reach of its services.

The charity provides training in the Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) approach, which equips people with the skills to identify those in crisis and guide them towards appropriate support.

Charity chairperson Paula Dunlop said: ‘By increasing the number of people trained in our QPR approach, we believe that those struggling could be spotted early enough to get them the right help and support.

‘There is a lot of help available, but often people don’t know about the services. Where appropriate, we can also provide free short-term telephone counselling from fully qualified therapists.’

The organisation is focusing its appeal on three key groups.

Firstly, it is encouraging local community groups - including sports clubs, hobby groups, and social organisations - to apply for free QPR training. Recent fundraising initiatives have allowed the charity to expand its training programme, making it more accessible to a wider audience.

‘We have already trained several community groups, but there are still many untrained people who may feel unsure about how to approach conversations with someone experiencing suicidal thoughts,’ said Ms Dunlop.

Secondly, the charity is keen to support the farming community. Farming can be an isolating profession, and financial pressures can contribute to feelings of hopelessness. Recognising the unique challenges faced by farmers, Isle Stand Up to Suicide has training sessions planned for members of the Young Farmers and hopes to expand this further.

‘We know that mental health struggles can be particularly hard to talk about in rural areas. By increasing awareness and training, we hope more people will recognise the signs of distress and feel equipped to offer support,’ Ms Dunlop added.

The third appeal is for volunteers to help staff the charity’s freephone helpline, which runs from 2pm to 10pm daily. Volunteers answer calls from home, covering shifts of two to four hours. While the service does not receive a high volume of calls, the charity says having enough trained volunteers is vital to ensure the line remains available for those in need.

‘We would like to recruit and train more volunteers to ensure the helpline remains fully staffed every day,’ Ms Dunlop said. ‘The training is just a two-hour workshop after completing the QPR training, covering what questions to ask, how to signpost people to the right services, and when it is appropriate to offer counselling.’

Since launching in October 2023, the charity has trained 169 people in suicide prevention and has three free sessions, training a further 48 people, being held in different locations around the island over the next few weeks. QPR training is also starting within the prison this week. Over 15 volunteers support the free helpline.

Anyone interested in receiving training or volunteering can contact Isle Stand Up to Suicide by emailing [email protected].

The freephone helpline is available from 2pm to 10pm daily on 803040.