Keynote speakers feature at Birmingham suicide awareness and education conference
A conference aimed at highlighting youth suicide awareness and prevention is being held in Birmingham next month.
The conference, at Villa Park, will feature keynote speakers including Claire Dickens MBE. She is the academic lead for mental health and wellbeing at the University of Wolverhampton and the chair of the city's suicide prevention forum. In 2021 she received the MBE for services to education and improving suicide awareness
Organised by the Mercian Trust based in Walsall, it will also feature a talk by staff and pupils from Queen Mary's Grammar School talking about the tragic loss of a pupil and how the community came together to support each other and cope with the grief.
Representatives of Papyrus UK, the leading youth suicide prevention and awareness charity, will be in attendance and a change your mind session will feature school to school mental health well being and support.
Mark Smith, the marketing and communications manager for Mercian Trust said it was such an important issue across the country and in the West Midlands that they had decided to make the conference free.
He said: "As well as Claire we have two other keynote speakers from the Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust including Doctor Mark Weaver who is the lead for suicide prevention.
"We are grateful to our principal sponsor Bounce Together, an organisation which aims to put well being at the heart of education and the days is really about finding out more and discussing the issue of youth suicide awareness, education and prevention."
The event will take place at Villa Park on Wednesday October 11 between 9am and 12.30pm – for more information go to www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/birmingham/aston-villa-fc/west-midlands-youth-suicide-awareness-prevention-conference-2023
