Select a region
One of the experts by experience who spoke at the recent Suicide Journey conference in Guernsey is confident our community can be one of the first places to really tackle the problems which can cause people to take their own lives.
Dr McDonnell is a specialist in suicide bereavement research.
She founded Suicide Bereavement UK and is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester having specialised in suicide bereavement research and support for more than 20 years.
Pictured (l-r): Dr Sharon McDonnell, Angela Samata, and Liz Koole.
Dr McDonnell was one of the guest speakers at the Suicide Journey conference earlier this month.
She was joined by Angela Samata; a Lived-Experience Advisor, Trainer, and Creative Consultant at Suicide Bereavement UK, and Liz Koole; a social worker, who has dedicated her career to working with children and families following bereavement by suicide.
The three women spent two days in Guernsey - first speaking of their own experiences and research, before running practical training sessions for the Bailiwick's emergency service personnel.
The overall aim of the event was to open a dialogue about suicide with other guest speakers, including the Lieutenant Governor, also sharing their stories.
The event was open to everyone and it was fully booked in advance.
Dr McDonnell told Express that her experience of losing her brother to suicide directly led her into the work she now does.
"...a very common grief response is to search. We want to understand. This has helped me in life. Out of everything bad in life, there's always some good, even my brother dying. Not that I wish my brother to have died by suicide but my searching resulted that even though I left school with no qualifications, in my search for 'why' I did a degree PhD and this work.
"The sole reason for me doing this work is because my brother died by suicide and it's trying to make meaning and sense out of something that's meaningless.
"I've dedicated my adult life into doing research. And we've been instrumental in the UK in informing policy and practise so being invited to your lovely little island is like magic.
"We host an international conference, which is the largest internationally, with 700 people from 16 countries and so to come here, it's like 'oh, wow, it's like magic'. You've got in this room representatives of lots of the bereaved and the professionals, you've got the society of your little island in there, and it feels an honour to be part of this because I would love to come back."
Dr McDonnell said the conference was much more than "a nice event with lovely sandwiches and speakers".
"I think the magic is happening," she said. "The Health and Wellbeing Strategy on your island is about building blocks and collaborative working and this is what you're seeing today.
"You've got three charities coming together and they've probably not got any money, but they've found it against all odds. Talking Benches and Guernsey Mind and Samaritans and the Health and Wellbeing Strategy are all about building blocks.
"I would say the charities, government, whoever, are the building blocks. Samaritans you don't see, but they're always there. They're the glue. And today they're all building the foundations for something special.
"I don't know what it will be yet and how long it will take, but more than that, they're educating people, and they're understanding without even being informed or educated that everybody matters."
Suicide prevention training for blue light services
Local suicide prevention app wins global award
LETTER: "Suicide is not inevitable: give us hope"
LISTEN: "Every suicide is absolutely devastating"
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.