A new service has been launched in Scarborough, providing free virtual support to children, young people and adults who have been bereaved by suicide.
Just ‘B’, a bereavement support and emotional wellbeing service serving North Yorkshire, has been commissioned as a 12-month pilot by NHS Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) to provide the specialist support in three postcode areas: YO11, YO12 and YO13.
Just ‘B’, which is part of the independent charity North Yorkshire Hospice Care, has provided specialist bereavement support in North Yorkshire for more than 15 years, predominantly in Harrogate, Hambleton and Richmondshire.
The sessions on offer are intended to help people explore their grief with the help of specialist support from an expert team trained to provide bereavement support following a suicide.
People living in the three postcodes are eligible to access support through the pilot scheme and can refer themselves to the service. Alternatively, parents/carers and health or social care professionals can refer them.
They can access support by emailing: [email protected]
A spokesperson for NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB said: ‘Dealing with the suicide of a significant person can be incredibly hard to process, which is why we are delighted we’ve been able to commission Just ‘B’ to provide support to families in Scarborough town and Eastfield.’
Clare Schmidt, director of client services at Just ‘B’, said she was pleased to be working in partnership so people bereaved by suicide can access support ‘when they need it most’.
‘This support comes at a crucial time, where a significant person in their lives has died and they are experiencing a range of emotions and feelings,’ she said.
In September, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the highest rate of suicides in England in Wales since 1999.
The data also highlighted a stark north-south divide with the lowest rates in London at 7.3 deaths per 100,000 compared with the North-West which reported 14.7 per 100,000.
In response, charity The Samaritans called for suicide to be treated as a public health crisis.
There is further information about Just ‘B’ at www.justb.org.uk
