North East suicide prevention funding must increase - charity

Men and boys accounted for three-quarters of all suicides in England and Wales in 2021, according to the most recent figures

A suicide prevention charity has warned lives are being put at risk after it was forced to scale back its services due to a lack of funding.

If U Care Share relies on funds it raises itself but said it was no longer viable in the cost of living crisis.

The County Durham-based charity wants the government to increase funding for those who offer mental health support.

The government said its Suicide Prevention Grant Fund gave a share of £5.4m to 113 organisations in 2021-22.

Matthew Smith as a child with his older brother Daniel O'Hare, who died aged 19

North-east England has the highest suicide rate in England and Wales, according to the most recent official figures.

If U Care Share, based in Chester-le-Street, carries out suicide prevention work, as well as workshops in local schools.

It was set up by the family of Daniel O'Hare, who took his own life in 2005 at the age of 19.

His younger brother, Matthew Smith, said a lack of funding locally and nationally had forced the organisation to use its own reserves, which were now running out.

"We were working with people across the North East," he told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"Unfortunately the costs have just got to the point now where it is not sustainable for us.

"We are not seeing the financial side, the support, coming into the North East."

Matthew Smith has called for more direct funding for charities that support those feeling suicidal

In 2021, there were 5,583 suicides registered in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics.

About three-quarters of those were men or boys.

The North East continued to have the highest rate of suicides, with 14.1 deaths per 100,000.

Fred Tennant is among those who have been offered support by the charity, which he said saved his life.

"I wouldn't be here [without them], that would be top and bottom of it," he said.

"In 2018 I decided to reach out following an attempt to take my own life.

"They have given me the insight and the ability to manage those difficulties and generally promoting the way that I like to relax, which to me has become just invaluable to my quality of life."

Fred Tennant is among those supported by the charity

The government said it was investing £57m in suicide prevention through its NHS Long-Term Plan and all local areas - including in the North East - had suicide prevention plans "to address the specific needs" of their populations.

"We are investing an additional £2.3bn a year into mental health services in England by 2023-24 so that an additional two million people can get the support they need, and will bring forward a new suicide prevention strategy later this year," a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson added.

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