Investing In People

At Suicide Bereavement UK people are at the heart of everything we do.

• Suicide Bereavement UK’s Team An organisation is only as good as its team and the reason why we only work with the best!  We are a small but perfectly formed team which consists of experts in the field of postvention (care of those bereaved by suicide).  Our team consists of practitioners, people with lived experience and researchers.  Combined, our expertise covers many disciplines and enables us to specialise in postvention research, training and consultancy across the lifespan.  Individually many of us have led initiatives in postvention, which are first of their kind.  Collectively, we are a force to be reckoned with.  If you want the best look no further.  We are very proud to introduce you to our team.

• Suicide Bereavement UK’s International Conference We bring together those bereaved by suicide and professionals who come into contact with us, in a spirit of collaboration, to learn from each other, influence policy and practice and help reduce stigma.
• Alexander McDonnell Bursary Suicide Bereavement UK award several bursaries to individuals who otherwise would be unable to attend Suicide Bereavement UK’s annual conference. 
• Access to Suicide Bereavement UK’s Publications  Whenever possible, Suicide Bereavement UK makes the articles that have been published in academic journals from our research studies, free to view and available to all.
• Voluntary Work Several members of our team take part in voluntary work in this field and have received awards for their services.
• Public Engagement and Social Responsibility Awards Dr Sharon McDonnell is currently leading a research team that has received five commended ‘Making a Difference for Social Responsibility’ from the University of Manchester (2015; 2016; 2018; 2019 and 2020)

• Adopt a place at the SBUK conference Both individuals and organisations offer to pay the registration fee to attend Suicide Bereavement UK’s international conference.  These places are allocated to those who do not have sufficient funds to attend the conference.  The person or organisation which funds a place(s) are acknowledged in the conference programme, if they wish.  They often dedicate their act of kindness in memory of someone they have lost to suicide.
• Twitter – ‘Team UK’ Dr Sharon McDonnell uses social media, especially twitter (@SJMcDonn) to keep people up-to-date on the research she is conducting.  Many followers helped to raise awareness of the National Suicide Bereavement Survey and were instrumental in helping to recruit 7,100 people, making it the largest study internationally.  Dr McDonnell refers to these people as ‘Team UK’ on Twitter.  We are confident that ‘Team UK’ will be equally motivated to help to disseminate the report from the survey as widely as possible.  Such actions highlight how we are stronger and more impactful when we work together.
• #MyHopeIs campaign  Suicide Bereavement UK and If U Care Share Foundation developed the #MyHopeIs logo to raise awareness of their collaborations via social media. For example #MyHopeis campaign was used to raise awareness of the National Suicide Bereavement Survey. This involved asking the general public to upload a video to Twitter using the words ‘my hope is’ to begin a sentence to help raise awareness of the study and to motivate people to participate. 
• Media support   TV, radio and newspapers have also been very supportive, when they have been asked to help raise awareness about the difficulties those bereaved by suicide face, as well as the research led by Dr McDonnell.  This also includes radio stations from a diverse range of communities.
• Celebrity support  Neville Southall (ex-professional footballer and mental health campaigner helped raise awareness of the National Suicide Bereavement Survey led by Dr Sharon McDonnell. Examples of his support included referring to the research, in The Guardian newspaper; during radio interviews; and in books. Neville also permitted Dr Sharon McDonnell to take over his Twitter account, to help recruit more men onto a research project. This resulted in over 400 men participating in the National Suicide Bereavement Survey, within 48 hours.
• Parlimentary Involvement
  • Dr Sharon McDonnell is an invited member of The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Suicide and Self Harm Prevention since 2012
  • Politicians have referred to Dr McDonnell’s research in several parliamentary debates (Hansard 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2019)
  • Madeleine Moon (MP) requested in the House of Commons that politicians help to raise awareness of research led by Dr McDonnell to their constituents (23rd November, 2017)
  • Dr McDonnell was invited to present research findings to Members of Parliament at Westminster (15th November, 2017)
  • Lynne Neagle AM, Welsh Assembly, has supported Dr McDonnell’s research in many ways (including raising awareness of the research that she leads) uploading a personal video on the #MyHopeIs campaign and raising the profile research led by Dr McDonnell in a newspaper article.