An evaluation of Every Life Matters’ suicide prevention training

This project was a joint piece of work by Every Life Matters and the University of Cumbria, and was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The report was produced by Dr Natalie Cotterell, Professor Tom Grimwood, and Dr Laura Snell at the Health and Society Knowledge Exchange (HASKE), University of Cumbria in collaboration with Chris Wood, Co-Founder of Every Life Matters.

Every Life Matters is a registered suicide prevention and suicide bereavement support charity that launched in Cumbria in 2020. The charity aims to promote suicide safer communities and provides suicide bereavement support across Cumbria – a county where suicide rates are 50% higher than the national England average (Office for National Statistics [ONS], 2021). One of the main ways in which Every Life Matters aims to promote suicide safer communities is through the delivery of online suicide prevention training. Every Life Matters offers four core training programmes on: Suicide Alertness; Suicide Awareness; Self-Harm Alertness; and Safety Planning.The aim of this National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)-funded joint project between Every Life Matters and Health and Society Knowledge Exchange (HASKE) at the University of Cumbria. was to determine the impact and reach of the suicide prevention training delivered by Every Life Matters. Alongside this, the research aimed to identify the relevant ‘gatekeepers’ for people experiencing thoughts of suicide within Cumbria, to ensure the current and prospective reach of the training was appropriate.