Specialised training under way to support children and young people after suicide bereavement

Training designed to help people feel more confident in supporting children and young people after suicide bereavement is under way across Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes.

The suicide or attempted suicide of a parent or carer can have a devastating and long-term impact on a child. Children of parents who take their own lives twice as likely to be hospitalised with depression, and are at an increased risk of substance use, self-harm and suicide. The right support at the right time can help to reduce these risks and prevent future suicides from taking place. The Suicide Bereavement Training is open to anyone in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes that works with children and young people.

It aims to help people to:

• understand the risk factors to children and young people
• be aware of the specialist support and resources that are available
• know what to say and what not to say to after suicide bereavement, and
• hear personal experiences of parental suicide and its impact.

The evidence-based training has been developed through international research and is delivered by trainers with lived experience of parental suicide.

It is the only training programme in the UK that specifically addresses the unique impact of parental suicide. Delivered by the Luna Foundation, the training is being funded by the Suicide Prevention Community Grant Scheme, managed by Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board and Milton Keynes Council.

Jade, a Schools Officer for a local police force who completed the training, said:

“I work closely with students in schools and I wanted to be better prepared when speaking to those who may have been bereaved. What we say and do can have a huge impact on them as they grow up and we have a responsibility to be as informed as possible to provide the best approach possible.

“I recently had a discussion with a student who had lost his brother to suicide and due to the training, I felt much more confident in being able to discuss this with him. I was also able to signpost him to local specialist services where he could get help.”

A Children’s Team Manager at a charity in Milton Keynes supporting disadvantaged children, said:

“It is important to me that me and the team at work are as well prepared to support as possible, and this training offered another layer to that preparedness. My life has been touched by suicide and it is a bereavement which is met with particular awkwardness and taboos, so the opportunity to explore effective support for people in this situation is very valuable.

“The training was engaging and sensitively delivered. I feel better informed about the support and resources available to people in this situation, and I know where to go when the need arises in the future.”

Anna Wardley, Chief Executive Officer of the Luna Foundation, said:

“We hope that with our workshops, we can provide people with the confidence and knowledge so that they are able to provide the support that these children and young people need at the right time.” If you work with children and young people in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes and would like to undertake the training, you can find out more and sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/luna-suicide-bereavement-training-tickets-510650989857