A new app will offer information, help and support to people in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire to help them avoid suicide. The Stay Alive app, which is the UK’s first suicide prevention app, was created by the charity Grassroots Suicide Prevention, and will now be available in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire after it was licensed to 2gether NHS Foundation Trust.
Sally Ashton, Clinical Continuous Improvement Lead for the Trust, explained why the Trust was has invested in licensing the app: “We’re very pleased to be able to offer Stay Alive for people in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. The app has received positive feedback in the areas it has already been used, and we believe it offers an excellent source of advice and information for people who may have thoughts of suicide as well as those who support and care for them. The content is completely free and is available online and offline, so is always there for the user, whenever they are feeling vulnerable.”
The app was launched last week and includes:
- Quick access to UK national crisis support helplines
- A mini-safety plan that can be filled out by a person thinking about suicide
- A Life Box to which the user can upload meaningful photos from their phone reminding them of their reasons to stay alive
- How to help a person who may be thinking about ending their life
- Suicide myth-busting
- Research-based reasons for living
- Online support services and other helpful apps
- Suicide bereavement resources
The app can be accessed through the Apple Store, Google Play and downloaded as a pdf.
