TORFAEN Assembly Member Lynne Neagle has welcomed the opening of a Wales office for the youth suicide prevention charity Papyrus.

The charity supports young people struggling with thoughts of suicide, and works in communities to deliver training programmes to individuals and groups to equip them with the skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour.

Ms Neagle, who is chair of the National Assembly’s Children, Young People and Education Committee, has long pressed for ways to help schools to talk more openly about suicide and suicide prevention.

She said: “I am really pleased to see Papyrus open a base in Wales.

“The charity does brilliant work in supporting young people who feel suicidal and in shattering the stigma around suicide.

READ MORE:

“We were told, during our inquiry Mind Over Matter into the emotional and mental health support available for young people, that a lot of teachers are afraid of saying the wrong thing.

“Evidence shows, however, that embedding lessons around suicide and self-harm actually reduces attempts and increases help-seeking behaviour.

“That is why we want to see the inclusion of basic mental health training - including how to talk about suicide - to be part of initial teacher training and continuous professional development, so that all teachers are equipped to talk about it.”

The AM recently set up a cross party group on suicide prevention at the National Assembly and has been a keen supporter of the work of Papyrus.

She also attended the charity’s annual conference in London, where she was a key note speaker.

Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics show that in 2018, 94 young people in Wales between the ages of 10 and 24 died by suicide.

“The more I have come to understand about suicide, the more I have realised we are not doing enough in Wales to talk more openly about the issue,” said Ms Neagle.

“I look forward to seeing Papyrus help us change that.”