Samaritans: Insights from experience : economic disadvantage, suicide and self-harm
The Samaritans, with partners from the Suicide Prevention Consortium, part of the VCSE Health & Wellbeing Alliance, have been exploring the relationship between economic disadvantage, suicide risk and self-harm in people’s own words.
They heard experiences relating to difficulty with housing, issues around social care, availability of mental health support and the workings of the benefit system. They also heard about the importance of sense of community belonging and things that help and support.
Together with people with lived experience, the Consortium have developed recommendations that focus on creating a more human and person-centered whole system approach, and that there is a need for a system that is more aware of mental health issues and the economic challenges people face.
