Photographs of hope in Manchester to raise suicide awareness
"It may encourage others that hope can come from a huge variety of places."
An exhibition of photographs that represent hope for a group of patients and carers who have been affected by suicide are on display at Manchester Town Hall in Rates Hall today (10th September) to raise awareness on World Suicide Prevention Day.
It's hoped the idea of a photographic exhibition of hope will raise awareness of World Suicide Prevention Day and help launch a new campaign, #seedsofhope, which aims to increase the profile of mental health research in Greater Manchester.
Dr Donna Littlewood, a Lead Researcher at the GM PSTRC, said: “We wanted to raise awareness of World Suicide Prevention Day and asked our patient and carer group what they felt would help us to do that.
“They all agreed that sharing photographs of things that help to give them hope may encourage others that hope can come from a huge variety of places. They also tell us that taking part in research that looks at the treatment of mental health has been a beacon of hope, so we wanted to do something that would raise its profile, hence launching #seedsofhope.”
Dr Leah Quinlivan, a Lead Researcher at the GM PSTRC , said: “One of the studies we’re currently working on is mental health assessments and psychological therapies following self-harm and we hope this event will help shine a light on it so more people will sign up to the online survey**. The more people who do, the more impact it is likely to have.”
Visitors to the exhibition will receive a packet of seeds and will be encouraged to share pictures of the plants progress on Twitter using the #seedsofhope.
Stephen Barlow, group member said: “I feel that by being part of this group I’m part of something important and helping to improve future treatment, as well as meeting people with similar stories to me. It’s great that we’ve had the opportunity to develop this exhibition and I hope that it will raise awareness and inspire other people to get involved with research, whether that’s completing the online survey or taking part in other studies”.
The exhibition will include pictures from 7 members of the public and patient group who live across the North West and have been meeting for about a year.
Councillor Joanna Midgley, Chair of the Manchester Suicide Prevention Partnership said : "Anyone who has been affected by the suicide knows how devastating this can be and the ripple effects of the tragedy reach far and wide, not just family members and friends but whole communities as well. This is why suicide prevention is one of our top priorities and why it is so important to help highlight campaigns such as #seedsofhope which aims to increase the profile of mental health research."
To take part in the patient/carer online survey click here.