MindTech are working with Samaritans and mHabitat to involve young people, aged 18-25, in designing and developing content to support speaking online about suicide and self-harm.

According to the December 2019 Samaritans Suicide statistics report: 'In the UK, suicide rates increased for all groups of young people in 2018. Suicide rates among men aged 20-24 had been decreasing, but this year there was a significant increase of 30%.' This increase proves there is more work to be done to help young people talk about suicide and self harm.

The Prince's Trust eBay Youth Index reports: 'Two in five (41%) young people feel more confident online than they do in person' and 'More than a quarter (28%) feel like they are going to fail in life'. These statistics demonstrate the impact of technology on young people's mental health and highlight the need to harness the influence of the internet in a positive and constructive way. If 41% of young people feel more confident online then the conversations they have online could be vitally important. 

We are planning to work with national organisations to produce guidelines for conversations online about suicide and self-harm and to ensure they are informed by young people. This means involving those who are most likely to need it in their design and development. We will be inviting young people, aged 18-25, who are likely to access these resources, perhaps because they are concerned about people close to them, people they speak with online or through their own experiences.

This will be a great opportunity to help us understand better ways of communicating and accessing these resources. We will be holding workshops in Nottingham to gain input from young people.

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