West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership's campaign to recruit Suicide Prevention Champions across West Yorkshire has seen hundreds sign up in the first few months – surpassing our initial end-of-year target with weeks still to go. 
The campaign, which launched at the end of August, in the run-up to World Suicide Prevention Day (Sep 10th), encourages people to register as Suicide Prevention Champions to learn more and take an active role in challenging stigma and awareness.
The initial aim at the launch was to recruit 281 Champions by the end of the year – one for each of the 281 people whose deaths were registered as suicides in West Yorkshire’s coroners’ courts in 2021.
But with weeks still to go, that target has already been surpassed - with the current total standing at 301 Champions.
That figure continues to grow daily as momentum builds and people across West Yorkshire pledge their support to our ambition to reduce the area’s suicide rate.
Richard James, acting public health consultant and suicide prevention lead for WY HCP, said: “It’s incredible to have passed our ambitious target of 281 Champions already and I’d like to thank everyone who has signed up and joined the cause. 
“We’d love to keep these numbers growing - to see more and more people join our mission to lower the suicide rate in West Yorkshire.
“Suicide is preventable – it is not inevitable.
“By learning more about what we can all do to help break stigma, raise awareness, recognise signs and have conversations, we can work together to help create a world where fewer people die by suicide.
“These are skills we can all learn and develop so please join the 201 people so far and sign up as a Suicide Prevention Champion. You might just save a life.”
Becoming a Suicide Prevention Champion takes minutes, signing up via an online form, and involves watching a 20-minute suicide awareness video, by the Zero Suicide Alliance, and making a pledge – big or small – about taking suicide prevention action and challenging stigma of suicide.
Champions can access all the latest suicide prevention news, resources, support services and information to use at home, in communities, workplaces and online across West Yorkshire and beyond.
Latest figures show West Yorkshire continues to have a suicide rate which is higher than the national average. The three-year average rate for 2020-2022 was 12.5 registered suicide deaths per 100,000 people in West Yorkshire, compared to a rate of 10.3 for England.
Suicide prevention is one of West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership’s ten big ambitions, as set out in the strategy and joint forward plan.
For more information and sign up to become a Suicide Prevention Champion, visit https://suicidepreventionwestyorkshire.co.uk/becomeachampion.