Male suicide support 'model' during COVID

Liverpool charity James' Place is helping to prevent men dying by suicide according to a new report by LJMU.

An evaluation by Dr Pooja Saini, Reader in Suicide and Self Harm Prevention, looked at the impact of the James’ Place's model over a two-year period before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings show the service was “just as effective, if not more so, during the pandemic.”

Suicide is the leading cause of death among men under the age of 50 and for young people aged 20-34 years in the UK. The most common causes are relationship breakdown or family problems.

Pooja found that men who used the service had a higher level of distress than pre-pandemic (83% vs 89%) but that a growing proportion were leaving with healthy to mild outcome scores (28% vs 37%).

Since opening in 2018 James Place has engaged with over 800 men and completed over 450 interventions.

Clinical Lead at the charity Jane Boland said: "That we've been able to offer our unique intervention to so many men in the borough shows that our service is vital to combat growing concerns around men taking their lives.”