Earlier this month, Suicide Prevention events took place across the country, with communities encouraged to light a candle in memory of those lost to suicide, or for those currently struggling.
We spoke to our sessional worker Kat about her thoughts on suicide prevention and support, and last year’s Baton of Hope event, as someone with lived experience of loss to suicide:
“As you can imagine it's very hard to put into words the impact of suicide bereavement. Of course, you never get over the loss of someone, but suicide leaves so many unanswered questions, guilt and blame.
I was incredibly proud to be a baton bearer for the Cumbria leg of the Baton of Hope in 2025. It was an epic event in so many ways, but at the same time, there was something incredibly sad about the fact that an event on that scale is needed at all.”
The Baton of Hope was a suicide prevention and awareness event, which took place in September 2025, and included a tour of baton bearers walking from West Cumbria to Carlisle.
“What Lisa and Johnny Birdsall created by bringing Cumbria together was nothing short of legendary. It brought people, communities, businesses and organisations together around something that affects so many lives but is still so difficult for people to talk about.”
Kat was a baton bearer during the tour, and is a passionate advocate for more awareness around suicide prevention.
“For me personally, it was much more than carrying a baton. It gave me the space to mourn and remember my brother.
When my brother died, there was so much noise and so many other traumatic things happening that it felt almost impossible to stop and actually process what had happened. During the time I was walking with the Baton, everything else seemed to fall away. All I could think about was him.
It was incredibly sad and painful, but equally, I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to remember him in that way. To carry his memory with me while also contributing to something much bigger felt incredibly significant.
Cumbria has suicide rates above the national average, and the Baton of Hope made it almost impossible for people to ignore the devastation that suicide leaves behind. It wasn't something that could be hidden away or spoken about quietly. You could see it. You could feel it.
Communities were coming together and saying that this matters.
It was fantastic to see local businesses stand up and support the Baton of Hope too. I hope that, alongside showing their support for suicide prevention, it also encouraged businesses to think about the wellbeing of their own staff, and to understand the impact that poor mental health can have on individuals, families and workplaces.
There was something incredibly powerful about the people who took part. It was a real battle of arms. More than 50 baton bearers, from all different walks of life, standing together for the same cause. I have never felt support like it.
There was no need for words. You just felt it. People supporting one another, understanding one another and standing shoulder to shoulder because they knew why they were there.
For me, that is what the Baton of Hope represented. It was about remembering those we have lost, supporting those who are struggling now and standing together to demand better for the future.
It showed what Cumbria can do when we come together. But it also showed just how desperately we need to keep that momentum going beyond the Baton, beyond the event and beyond a single moment in time.
When we talk about mental health support in Cumbria, I think it’s important to recognise both the incredible work that is already happening within our communities and the significant gaps that still exist.
Peer-support groups, charities and Community Interest Companies (CICs) are increasingly filling those gaps, often with little or no funding or wider support. Organisations such as The Happy Mums Foundation, Andy’s Man Club, Carlisle Eden Mind and Every Life Matters are doing fantastic work, providing vital spaces for people to talk, connect and access support. But we cannot expect community organisations to continually carry the weight of a system that is struggling.
Cumbria is a huge and diverse county. There are so many different communities, subcultures and geographical areas, each with their own challenges, needs and ways of engaging with support. What works for one community may not work for another.
Reaching those communities effectively takes a huge amount of groundwork. It requires organisations to build trust, understand local circumstances and relationships, and then adapt their support accordingly. That work is incredibly resource-intensive, and unfortunately not every organisation has the capacity or funding to do it.
I also think there needs to be much better communication between local healthcare and social services and the people making decisions at a regional and national level. Those working on the ground are seeing the reality every day.
They understand where the gaps are and what people are struggling to access. That experience needs to be properly heard and acted upon.
This is why the work of Healthwatch is so important. Healthwatch has an important role in being a voice for communities and helping to bridge that gap between people's real-life experiences and the policies, procedures and decisions that shape services. Sometimes those systems can become so focused on processes and outcomes that the emotional and mental impact on a person when a service gets it wrong can be overlooked.
People aren't just statistics, case numbers or referrals. When someone is already struggling with their mental health, being unable to access the right support, being passed between services or feeling that they aren't being listened to can have a profound impact. We need to make sure those experiences are captured, listened to and fed back into the system so that they can lead to meaningful change.
We are facing what feels like a mental health epidemic, and Cumbria has historically experienced suicide rates above the national average. In that context, we have to ask: where is the vital support that people need?
Community organisations can be part of the solution, but they cannot be expected to replace properly funded statutory services.
This isn't intended to diminish the fantastic work already being done. Quite the opposite. The work of organisations such as Andy’s Man Club, Eden Mind and Every Life Matters demonstrates just how much can be achieved when people come together to support their communities.
But they should not have to fight so hard for the resources to do that work. We need to value the expertise and reach of local organisations, listen to the people working on the ground, and ensure that the voices of people using services are genuinely influencing how those services are designed and delivered.
People’s lived experience should shape the system, rather than people having to fit themselves into the system.”
Kat told us about her experiences of accessing peer support:
“I was six weeks postpartum when I walked into my first Happy Mums group. I was reeling from a traumatic birth and all the challenges that come with becoming a mum for the first time, while at the same time trying to process the loss of a family member to suicide.
Happy Mums gave me a space to breathe when the world around me had collapsed and there was nothing but dust and pain. The facilitators just understood. They were able to listen, signpost me to other support when I needed it and, most importantly, they made me feel that my experience was valid.
Living with PTSD can feel like living in a world where everything around you is muffled and static. Trying to navigate that while becoming a first-time mum and grieving a suicide loss was incredibly difficult. Happy Mums became my safe place.
I honestly can't say enough about how important peer support is. It's finding your tribe, your village, your people. People who don't judge you because they have their own experiences and understand that sometimes you don't need someone to fix things; you just need someone to listen.
I also found peer support in a very different way at Andy Steele's Resilience Gathering last year. Hearing guest speakers openly share their own traumatic experiences and talk about how, through resilience and strength, they had found a way through that trauma was incredibly empowering and emotive. But most importantly, it gave me hope.
I think that is one of the most powerful things about peer support. Everyone is on their own journey and everyone is at a different point in that journey. When you are in the depths of trauma or grief, it can be incredibly difficult to imagine ever feeling differently. Hearing someone else say, “I've been where you are, and look how far I've come,” can be incredibly inspiring.
It doesn't mean their journey will be your journey, or that recovery is straightforward. But it shows that there can be something beyond the place you are currently in. And sometimes, when everything feels impossible, that little glimpse of possibility is exactly what you need.
That sense of hope is at the heart of why the Happy Mums Foundation exists; to give other people hope. To show people that even when their world feels like it has collapsed, there can be a way forward.
Peer support creates a space where empathy fills the room. You can speak openly, or you can simply sit and be around people who understand. There is comfort in knowing that you aren't the only person feeling the way you do.
For me, Happy Mums wasn't about someone having all the answers. It was about being given the space to breathe, to process what had happened and to feel heard at a time when I felt completely overwhelmed.
And the Resilience Gathering reminded me of something equally important: sometimes hope comes from hearing the stories of people who have walked through incredibly dark places and found their way forward.
That is the power of peer support. It reminds us that we are not alone, and sometimes it gives us enough hope to take the next step.
Peer support gave me the confidence and ability to seek further mental health support, after being able to open up more and seeing the benefits of doing so.”
Kat told us her thoughts on World Suicide Prevention Day:
“Suicide prevention events, particularly on the 10th September, are incredibly important. They create opportunities to start conversations, challenge stigma and remind people that talking about suicide should not be something we shy away from.
But the 10th of September should only ever be the beginning.
For some people, these events might be the first time they have felt able to talk about their thoughts, feelings or experiences. But then what happens afterwards? Who carries that conversation on?
When we think about the impact of suicide, we also have to think about the people living with suicidal thoughts, those who have survived suicide attempts and those left behind by suicide bereavement. The impact doesn't disappear when the event finishes or when 10th of September passes.
Suicide bereavement can feel like an atomic bomb going off in your life. The devastation doesn't happen on one day. You are left trying to navigate the aftermath, often for years. So where is the ongoing support?
Sometimes I worry that dedicated awareness days, while incredibly important, can also be triggering for people with lived experience. There can be an enormous amount of conversation and awareness concentrated into one day, but what happens when the day is over? Where is the aftercare for someone who has been reminded of their own experiences, their own thoughts, or the person they have lost?
I don't think the answer is to have fewer conversations. I think it is the opposite. We need to make these conversations part of everyday life.
We need to create spaces where talking about suicide and mental health isn't unusual or reserved for a particular awareness day. It should be something we can talk about in our communities, in ordinary conversations, at events and, importantly, in workplaces.
The pain someone must be in to take their life is unimaginable - but the pain multiples and spreads through families and communities forever. During suicide prevention conversations; just talking about the impact on those left behind may be prevention in itself for anyone struggling. I often think if I could let someone feel even for a minute the pain of suicide bereavement - it would be enough for them to speak up and seek help. Of course it is way more complex than that.
Reducing stigma is incredibly important, but we also need to make sure we aren't simply encouraging people to talk without making sure there is somewhere for them to go afterwards. Opening the door to a conversation means we also have a responsibility to consider what happens next.
For me, the real measure of suicide prevention isn't how much we talk about it on the 10th of September. It's what we do on the 11th of September, and every day after that.
World Suicide Prevention day can open the door. But we need to make sure people aren't left standing in the doorway alone."
If you are experiencing thoughts of suicide, you're not alone and there are people who can offer you support:
- Call Samaritans on: 116 123
- Call the CALM Helpline on: 0800 58 58 58
- Visit the Every Life Matters website