6507

6507 is a really big number. It’s a number that could be the price of a second-hand car, a pin number for a bank account, the cost of a brand-new motorbike, the combination of a lock but it’s none of those.

6507 is the number of people who died by suicide in 2018. 6507 is the number of people who took the option that ended all options. 6507 is the number of families grieving. 6507 is the number we must work together to lower every year until we get to zero.

So, lets take some easy steps first. Research shows that connection and connectedness save lives. If we belong to something, a group or a social circle it protects us, keeps us well and improves our wellbeing. Let’s make 2020 our year of connection. The challenge is to join a group, form a circle and count to 6507.

20 minutes of your life can save another. Please take the training. If you would like to attend the college to do this please check for details on the events page, otherwise follow this link:http://www.zerosuicidealliance.com/training

6507 steps is about 3 miles for a family stroll; it’s 1 hour, 48 minutes and 27 seconds spent doing anything as a team, it’s 300 bikes riding 21.69 miles each, it’s a big field of trees dug in by a group of community members, an ocean of sunflowers planted by an army of school kids, it’s 146.4 square meters of 15cm squares knitted by a platoon of people, it’s a documentary of photographs, a book of tweets, an afternoon of skipping, a cacophony of drums, a chorus of voices, a football team’s worth of keepie-uppies, a town of hellos, a village of hugs, a congregation of handshakes, an affirmation of smiles and a £65.07 stack of pennies.

It’s an excuse to make friends, to build connections and communities. It’s a way to lower the number.