LEP members reflect on their experiences shaping suicide strategy in Scotland
An independent evaluation of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group’s (NSPLG) Lived Experience Panel (LEP) has identified the enormous positive effect the group has experienced and contributed to suicide prevention in Scotland.
Members have been involved in every area of policy and practice development in the previous suicide prevention action plan, Every Life Matters.
And this will continue going forward, following the launch of Creating Hope Together, Scotland’s new suicide prevention strategy and action plan, in autumn 2022.
Work undertaken by social research agency The Lines Between for SAMH, who host the LEP, has identified a series of recommendations going forward which will help strengthen the approach to involving people who have been there.
The overriding message, however, is that involving people with lived (and living) experience is critical in developing solutions that work.
“Having been on the panel since its inception, I feel I have been very lucky to fully experience the journey that we have all been on,” Jenn Barnes said.
“A very unique set of circumstances has brought us together and I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to meet people whose paths wouldn’t have normally crossed with mine.
“We have formed a close bond that has allowed us to feel comfortable in each other’s company and given us the strength to help others by using our combined Lived Experience voice.”
It’s a view shared by John Gibson, who lost his son Cameron.
“It has been a privilege to be part of the NSPLG’s Lived Experience Panel and to offer comment and insight into Scotland’s strategy for suicide prevention and suicide postvention,” he explained.
“Knowing that the collective grief experience of the suicide community in Scotland is listened to, acknowledged and taken forward in legacy for all our loved ones is hugely meaningful.”
Seonaid Stallan revealed that being part of the LEP helped her process the tragedy of losing her son Dylan and sister-in-law Vanessa three weeks later.
“Losing my son to suicide shattered everything I had taken for granted about myself, my relationships and my world. The grief process is especially complex and traumatic, and because of the stigma attached to suicide, can be incredibly isolating.
“It took several years for me to begin to process what had happened but I knew during that time that I needed to share my experience in a way that would benefit others.
“Joining the LEP gave me an opportunity to share my experience alongside others who understand and also want to make a difference, in a non-judgemental, supportive environment. Our voices offer a unique resource that have helped ensure the development of suicide prevention activities stay centred on the human experience of suicide.
“Throughout this journey I have also learned so much about suicide and suicide prevention from the experiences of those around me. Being part of this incredible group of supportive people has allowed me to develop an unexpected and welcome clarity to my own experiences.”
Neil Renton is one of the newer members of the LEP, but felt welcome from the start, a reflection on the group’s dynamic.
“It didn’t stop me feeling empowered or having an opinion that was valued,” he said.
“If anything, I was shown care and compassion by those already on the LEP. To be part of a group with the determination to do all they can to help educate people on suicide is something I’ll never take for granted.”
For many members, the group has provided an opportunity to make sense out of loss, to change the course of other people’s lives, and to find a little comfort in the darkness of grief. It’s certainly been that way for Jenn.
“I have always said that the panel has been therapeutic for me,” she adds.
“Having a real chance to influence top-level decision-makers and help to shape policies and services for the future has left me feeling that I am doing something worthwhile and helping create a legacy not only myself but for my brother Calum who lost his life to suicide in 2017.”
Read the full independent evaluation on the SAMH website. A summary of key learnings are available, here.
