What is a Suicide Prevention Champion?
A Suicide Prevention Champion is someone who learns about suicide prevention so they help their friends, relatives, colleagues or even strangers in the community. Knowing the signs and being able to have a conversation about suicide is a skill we can all develop.
Suicide Prevention Champions also take action – big or small – to challenge stigma, raise awareness and promote suicide prevention within their home, neighbourhood, community and workplace.
Please watch this video to learn more about the role of Suicide Prevention Champion:
What is a Suicide Prevention Champion not?
It is *not* about crisis support; we are not asking you to deal with people in crisis.
Who can be a Suicide Prevention Champion?
Anyone! Our Suicide Prevention Champions initiative is open to anyone (over 18) who wants to help prevent suicide and is willing to take an active role in raising awareness, reducing stigma and championing this cause.
We want Suicide Prevention Champions from all communities across West Yorkshire. This includes unpaid carers, LGBTQ+, those from ethnic minority communities, young and old people as well as those with a disability.
How to become a Suicide Prevention Champion
To become a Suicide Prevention Champion, you will need to complete three steps:
Step One 
- Complete free suicide prevention training in your own time by watching Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) 20 minutes to save a life course. This is a 20 minute interactive film which you can watch on your Smartphone.
Step Two
- Think of a suicide prevention pledge which works for you - what you intend to do as part of our movement to make suicide prevention everyone's business. When you register, we will ask for your pledge is. Suggestions include:
- share our resources on your social media to raise awareness,
- sending friends or family information on our West Yorkshire Suicide Bereavement Service,
- agree to combat stigma at home or at work,
- talking to your mates,
- help us reach influencers,
- support your employer to develop a suicide prevention plan,
- set up a community project,
- encourge others to become a Suicide Prevention Champion
- fundraise for a suicide prevention charity
- Support your workplace to raise awareness about suicide prevention
Step Three
- We will also ask you to tell us a bit more about yourself, as well as your interest in suicide prevention, to help aid our suicide prevention work and ensure we reach everybody.
Once I become a Suicide Prevention Champion, then what?
After you have completed the suicide prevention training and thought of your pledge, you can register to become a Suicide Prevention Champion by clicking the button below.
Once registered, you will get a digital ‘Suicide Prevention Champion’ logo, which you can share/print, and a welcome pack containing everything you need to know about West Yorkshire suicide prevention. This will include:
- Suicide prevention graphics and posters for you to use
- An explanation of our website and some of the resources available to you
- A language guide, and more...
You can also choose to receive ongoing newsletters, or other information, containing latest suicide prevention news, training, support and resources from across West Yorkshire.
You can also opt into suicide prevention network meetings, but there is no obligation to do this. In the network, we hear from expert speakers in suicide prevention.
Together, West Yorkshire’s Suicide Prevention Champions will work to prevent suicide.
For more information, visit our FAQs section