Suicide Prevention Bristol are proud to announce the launch of our “Not the Last Stop” Campaign.
Between 9th July to 9th August 2021 Suicide Prevention Bristol recorded six separate journeys made in a taxi where the driver, unknown to them had taken someone to a known suicide location. To us as a suicide prevention charity, taking someone to a location like this would naturally raise concerns and be questioned. Sadly, for these journeys, those questions were never asked and successful intervention could not take place before those vulnerable Individuals reached their final destination.
The goal for this campaign is to spread awareness within taxi firms and educate drivers in how to recognise the signs of individuals at risk who may be traveling via taxi. Suicide is 100% preventable if it’s known that an individual is struggling. Knowing what to look out for is a key element in potentially saving someone’s life.
We want to train local and larger taxi firms and their drivers on how to recognise signs that may raise concerns, approach a conversation with that individual, and what to do if they do have concerns for someone’s welfare.
The vision is for taxi firms to create an automatic flag on the system, so that if they receive a call for a taxi requesting a journey to a known location. The taxi drivers can be on alert to spot the signs of somebody at risk such as how they appear, clothing they are wearing etc. and be able to report this to local services for a welfare check. We will also be providing local taxi drivers information leaflets about how to easily spot somebody in crisis and what to do in an emergency situation. We will be encouraging these taxi drivers to liaise with the emergency services should they believe someone in their taxi is at immediate risk.
To compliment this, we will also be working alongside local services to ensure the best intervention is made to protect that person from suicide. We have opened up a dedicated number so drivers can call us for advice whenever they need and our call handling team have also been fully trained on how to manage these calls.
We do not want taxi drivers to feel any extra pressure with this new campaign and we hope with the training and support given they will feel comfortable and capable. We are extremely grateful for the positive feedback we have received from the local taxi services and their willingness to take on this scheme. As a charity our goal is to prevent suicide and this scheme is a step in the right direction to helping those in their darkest hour.
As well as this campaign, we also have an outreach team who patrol areas in Bristol and a dedicated national helpline which is open 24 hours a day.
Our charity is solely volunteer based. We aim to support people that are feeling suicidal and struggling with their mental health. If you need somebody to talk to, we are here to listen with a non-judgmental and empathetic approach.