News / mental health
Video: ‘The Bristol Sanctuary was able to reach me when I was at crisis point’
The rate of death by suicide in Bristol is above the national three year average, according to the latest figures from Public Health England.
With 12.8 deaths by suicide per 100,000 people in the city, it is an ever-pressing issue and the need to provide support for people when they reach crisis point is vital.
Solomon Walter-Kelly, a volunteer for St Mungo’s homeless charity, portrays how The Bristol Sanctuary has provided a lifeline when it’s most needed in his video that shares real stories of those who have reached out for help.
“I thought the pain I was suffering mentally couldn’t be alleviated and so the only way out was to take my own life,” says one interviewee.
“Usually for me when I’m in crisis, I’m unreachable, and more to the point, I don’t want to be reached but The Sanctuary were able to reach me.”
The Sanctuary, run by St Mungo’s, offers a safe space that is there for anyone who feels they can’t cope or are feeling desperate over the weekends – a time when many other services are shut.
Of the 20 people each week who visit, three out of four are considering suicide or self-harm.
The video was created as part of the ‘We Hear You’ campaign, launched by St Mungo’s, which aims to get people talking about mental health and raise awareness of The Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary opened in St Mungo’s New Street HQ in April 2015 and is commissioned as part of Bristol Mental Health services. It is open Friday to Monday from 7pm until 1.30am. Call 0117 954 2952 or text 07709 295 661 to book a space. Phone lines open at 5pm. Or email: [email protected].
Read more: ‘The Bristol Sanctuary saved my life’
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