Skip navigation

About Us

 

PAPYRUS is the national charity dedicated to the prevention of young suicide.

PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide is the UK charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people.

Suicide is the biggest killer of people aged 35 and under in the UK. We believe that suicide is preventable.

PAPYRUS was founded in 1997 by a group of bereaved parents, who had each lost children to suicide. Our founding parents shared core beliefs that suicide is preventable, and that those of us with lived experience of suicide have a valuable and unique contribution to make to the wider conversation around suicide.

Since then, PAPYRUS has grown into a UK-wide charity with offices in north west England, south west England, West Midlands, London, Northern Ireland, north Wales, south Wales, and Scotland.

Today, we are a leading youth suicide prevention charity in the UK. Our suicide prevention helpline, HOPELINEUK, is staffed by trained suicide prevention advisers, who work with young people – and anybody concerned for a young person – to help keep them safe from suicide. HOPELINEUK is a free and confidential call, text and email service, which is available from 9am to midnight, every day of the year.

We deliver our suicide prevention education and training packages to thousands of people each year, to create suicide-safer communities across the UK.

We also press for change to current legislation around suicide prevention on a regional and national level.

The work we do centres around three key principles; Support Equip and Influence.

SUPPORT:

 We provide confidential support and advice to young people struggling with thoughts of suicide, and anyone worried about a young person through our helpline, HOPELINEUK.

EQUIP:

We engage communities and volunteers in suicide prevention projects and deliver training programmes to individuals and groups. This includes equipping local councils, healthcare professionals and school staff with suicide prevention skills.

INFLUENCE:

We aim to shape national social policy and make a significant contribution to the local and regional implementation of national suicide prevention strategies wherever we can. Our campaigning comes from our passion as individuals, parents, families and communities who have been touched personally by young suicide. We press for change in many places using hard-hitting and dynamic campaigns as well as presenting evidence to those in power so that lessons can be learned and learning implemented to help save young lives.

 

PAPYRUS offers a range of suicide prevention training, which is available to individuals, organisations and communities who want to create a suicide-safer society.

From our free 30-minute SP-ARK session*, to our two-day ASIST course – we have a range of suicide prevention education and training courses available.

For further information about our courses and what we can offer – please contact our training team: training@papyrus-uk.org

*one funded SP-ARK session per organisation/ group; subsequent sessions will need to be purchased

 

 

HOPELINEUK advisers want to work with you to understand why thoughts of suicide might be present. They also want to provide you with a safe space to talk through anything happening in your life that could be impacting on your or anyone else’s ability to stay safe.

  • For children and young people under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide
  • For anyone concerned that a young person could be thinking about suicide

Young people

Our advisers are all trained to help you focus on staying safe from suicide. Their training enables them to provide advice and support that may help you to move forward and stay alive.

Concerned others

If you are concerned that a young person is feeling suicidal, advisers can support you to start a conversation about suicide and explore options of how best to support them.

Contact HOPELINEUK

If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned for a young person who might be you can contact HOPELINEUK for confidential support and practical advice.

Opening hours:

9am – midnight every day of the year (Weekends and Bank Holidays included)

Our Suicide prevention advisers are ready to support you.

Who can PAPYRUS HOPELINEUK help?

  • Young people, children, family, parents, siblings, partners, carers, grandparents
  • Concerned friends: at work, in school, college, university
  • GPs, nurses, teachers, school nurses, A&E staff, pastoral staff
  • Mental health professionals: CAMHS staff, CPNs, psychiatrists
  • Education staff: teachers, lecturers, learning mentors, education social workers
  • Police, ambulance staff, prison staff, drug and alcohol services, probation workers

Feedback from HOPELINEUK users

“I’ve just searched online to find the service, this is the best advice I’ve had, and I’m talking about doctors and health professionals. Do you know nobody has just asked me to talk to him; it’s really strange when you think about it – so thank you.”

“Thank you for helping me – no-one has ever helped me this much before.”

“The people at HOPELINEUK are great – I feel understood.”

 

Further help and advice

This page is for information on the PAPYRUS HOPELINEUK service – visit our HOPELINEUK FAQ section for more information about using the service. For further help and advice, including a full list of resources, visit our help and advice resources page.

Policies

Confidentiality Policy

Remit of service policy

 

Our latest news

Stay up to date with PAPYRUS; our news section is regularly updated with helpful advice and guidance, as well as information about our upcoming events and campaigns. If you have any questions or queries please get in touch.


Reflections on grief and mental health

This blog post was written by London-based PAPYRUS volunteer, Chay. In August 2019 I was on holiday in Cuba with my…

Read More

30 Days of self-care calendar

Each year for Stress Awareness Month, PAPYRUS releases its 30 days of self-care calendar. The calendar, which you can find…

Read More
 

Supporting my sister; World Bipolar Day

This blog was written by a PAPYRUS volunteer; names and locations have been removed to preserve the identity of the…

Read More