Commuters encouraged to prevent suicides through small talk

Commuters are being asked to take part in a new suicide prevention campaign on the railways, which encourages the public to intervene if they spot vulnerable people and talk to them to interrupt their suicidal thoughts.

The Samaritans, British Transport Police (BTP) and the rail industry, including Network Rail and the train operating companies, have teamed up to launch Small Talk Saves Lives to give travellers the confidence to act if they notice someone may be at risk.

The campaign team has encouraged the public to 'trust their instincts and look out for fellow passengers who might need help'.

Drawing on insights from successful interventions made by some of the 16,000 rail staff and BTP officers who’ve been trained by Samaritans in suicide prevention, Small Talk Saves Lives comes after research suggests passengers can also have a key role in preventing tragedy as suicidal thoughts can be temporary and interrupted with something as simple as a question.

For each life lost on the railway, six are saved, campaigners said.

The public are being given the tools to spot a potentially vulnerable person, start a conversation with them, and help save a life.

A survey of rail passengers on behalf of the campaign, revealed more than four out of five would approach someone who may be suicidal if they knew what to look out for, what to say, and if they could be confident they wouldn't make the situation worse.

The campaign suggests that there is no single sign or combination of behaviours that mean a person is suicidal but, if something doesn’t feel right, the message is to act.  Warning signs include a person standing alone and isolated, looking distant or withdrawn, staying on the platform a long time without boarding a train or displaying something out of the ordinary in their behaviour or appearance.

Different courses of action are suggested, depending on the situation and the response. These include approaching the person and asking them a question to distract them from their thoughts, or alerting a member of rail staff or calling the police.

Sarah Wilson felt suicidal and planned to take her life on the railways, but didn’t as somebody reached out to her. Her story inspired the making of a video to promote the campaign.

Ms Wilson said: 'Someone showing that they cared about me helped to interrupt my suicidal thoughts and that gave them time to subside. The more that people understand that suicide is preventable, the better. I hope people will share the video and that the campaign will encourage people to trust their gut instincts and start a conversation if they think someone could need help. You won’t make things worse, and you could save a life.’

The campaign was developed with people who have been personally affected by suicide, and also has the backing of leading suicide prevention expert, Professor Rory O’Connor, from the University of Glasgow.

Professor O’Connor said: “I am pleased to support Samaritans’ new campaign, Small Talk Saves Lives. It aims to tackle one of the myths around suicide and its prevention: namely, that there is nothing we can do to prevent suicide. There is, and we all have a role to play. It is great to see this campaign encouraging people to reach out if they think someone may be suicidal. It could save lives.”

Samaritans CEO Ruth Sutherland said; ‘Suicide is everybody’s business and any one of us could have an opportunity to save a life. We have worked carefully with the public, rail travellers and those bereaved by suicide to ensure that this campaign is delivered sensitively but with real impact.

'The knowledge and skills to save lives in the rail environment can be applied to many other situations.'

Ian Stevens from Network Rail, who manages the suicide prevention programme on behalf of the rail industry, said: 'If it were your loved one, a daughter or son, husband or wife who was going through an emotional crisis, wouldn’t you hope that somebody took the time to stop and ask if they were ok? Even if in doubt, you can always report concerns to a member of staff or a police officer, but please act if your instinct is telling you that something is wrong.'

British Transport Police Chief Constable, Paul Crowther, national strategic policing lead for suicide prevention, said if people were not comfortable intervening they could tell a member of rail staff or a police officer or call 999.

Find out more about Small Talk Saves Lives at: www.samaritans.org/smalltalksaveslives. You can also support by following the campaign @samaritanscharity on Instagram or sharing the video on Twitter @samaritans or Facebook at www.facebook.com/samaritanscharity, using the hashtag #SmallTalkSavesLives.