Mental health professionals, advocates and leaders came together in Bury on Wednesday, 18 June for the town’s first ever Suicide Prevention Conference, a powerful event focused on saving lives through support, collaboration and compassion.
Held under the theme “We’re In This Together”, the conference marked a key milestone in mental health efforts within the borough, aiming to raise awareness, offer support and build strategies to reduce suicide across workplaces and communities.
The event was organised by Rebecca Jackson from Bury-based charity The Big Fandango, Lorna Wilson and Tom Wild of The Creative Living Centre in Prestwich, with support from Bury Council’s public health lead Jim McGlynn.
Speakers addressed urgent issues such as changing the way we talk about suicide, risk factors affecting neurodivergent people, and how strong communities can play a vital role in prevention.
Rebecca Jackson, whose charity offers suicide prevention training, peer support for bereaved families and a sewing studio to combat isolation, opened the event with a call to “bring people together to talk openly and supportively”.
Among the other speakers were:
- Paul Vittles, designer of the Zero Suicide Society programme and advisor on the emerging British Standard for suicide prevention
- Julia Waters, sister of headteacher Ruth Perry, who died by suicide following an OFSTED inspection, campaigning for reform in school accountability
- Bob Abrahart, whose daughter Natasha took her own life while at university; he now campaigns for a legal duty of care in higher education
- Dr Sarmad Nadeem, consultant psychiatrist and suicide prevention chair at Pennine Care NHS Trust
- Andy Smith, founder of Spectrum Gaming in Bury, working with autistic youth
- Njal Long, suicide prevention lead at We Are Survivors, supporting men including trans and non-binary survivors of sexual harm
A 'Mental Health Marketplace' allowed attendees to engage with local and national organisations addressing causes linked to suicide such as bereavement, gambling, domestic abuse, housing and social isolation.
The event concluded with a panel discussion on at-risk groups, featuring Carly Bond from BIG, David Catterall on LGBTQ+ issues and Andrew Murray from Andy’s Man Club, moderated by Lorna Wilson.
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