Mental Health Seminar On World Suicide Prevention Day

Hampshire police officers are being encouraged to attend a Federation webinar about mental health in policing, being held on World Suicide Prevention Day.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) is running a webinar called Breaking the Silence: Conversations about Mental Health and Suicide Prevention from 10.30am-12pm on 10 September.

During the session, a Fed Rep will share his personal struggles with mental health and talk about how he has supported numerous members over the years. An officer will also talk about the impact of her antenatal depression, and Dr Jess Miller will encourage teams to cultivate a work environment that counteracts and addresses suicidal thought patterns.

Hampshire Police Federation Chair Zoë Wakefield said: “This is so important. We all know officers who have struggled, who haven’t opened up. We know people who have pretended things were fine and then sadly have made that decision to end their life.

“It’s so important that we keep talking to people and officers are encouraged to come to the Federation for support. We can chat to them confidentially, we can put them in touch with people who can help them. Even when it feels like there’s no solution, there’s no way out, come and chat to us, let us help you.

“Pick up the phone to the Federation, ping us an email, and we’ll meet up with you, come and have a chat with you, we’ll do whatever we can to ease that pressure that you’re under..

“Also, if people are worried about a colleague, please tell us. We can always contact that colleague without even disclosing who’s told us about them.”