'Isle Stand up to Suicide' charity aims to tackle suicide prevention in the Isle of Man

  • Ali Vondy, coordinator for 'Isle Stand up to Suicide'

A charity in the Isle of Man has been set up with the aim of tackling suicide prevention on the island.

The Isle of Man Government published its suicide prevention strategy earlier in the year, highlighting the increased suicide rate in the island.

Charity coordinator, Ali Vondy, said: "There is an issue around the tragedy of suicide on the Isle of Man and that is something we want to proactively tackle."

'Isle Stand up to Suicide' is primarily introducing a phone-line service for anyone in a 'suicidal crisis'.

Callers will be given the option to access a phone counselling or brief intervention session until stable, and then offered further help if needed.

The phone line will be manned by individuals who have been given suicide prevention training. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

For 14 years, the suicide rate on the island had been statistically similar to the UK.

However, that rate increased during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, with 22 people per 85,000 reported to have committed suicide.

That compares to a rate of 11 people per 100,000 in the UK.

A launch event for the charity was held at Vagabonds rugby clubhouse in Douglas. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

"This has been discussed at great length", Ali says.

"We are a small community and that can be great, but sometimes people can feel that everybody knows their business. So therefore if they are having issues, they don't want everyone knowing their business."

"And so they can sometimes feel backed into a corner with suicide being the only way out.

"But in a small community people can still feel very lonely and feel like everybody is involved in their own lives, but there's no room for them.

"I don't think there is ever one single cause for suicide... and it's an individual tragedy, so that's a very difficult questions to answer."

  • CEO of Papyrus, Ged Flynn

The launch event saw guest speakers from the UK, including the CEO of Papyrus Ged Flynn.

He said: "We just wanted to come and lend our support to it really. We share the same value, the same mission.

"What charities like mine and this new entity do is give hope to people".

The phone line for 'Isle Stand up to Suicide' will be open from 2:00pm to 10:00pm every day, starting on Saturday 7 October.

In the meantime, those wishing to get in touch are encouraged to email islestanduptosuicide@gmail.com.

Further information on the charity can be found here.

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