Sam Southern is a Lead Suicide Prevention and Bereavement Coordinator at Empowerment Charity in Blackpool. As a dedicated mother of five, Sam has faced adversity, including the tragic loss of her husband to suicide in June 2020. This experience has driven her passion and commitment to raise awareness and offer hope to those who may be struggling. In this guest blog she talks about approaches to suicide prevention, sharing her experience.
Jan Cunliffe is the co-founder of the campaign group JENGbA (Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association) and part of the Spokesperson Network. In this guest blog she shares her involvement in the making of the Channel 4 documentary London Bridge: Facing Terror and her hopes for the impact of this film.
Maggie Gordon-Walker, from our Spokesperson Network, is the founder of Mothers Uncovered, a Sussex peer-led organisation that supports women in matrescence (the transition to motherhood) with creative groups led by past participants. In this blog, she explores the role of the motherhood and pregnancy in the film Barbie (2023).
Exactly 10 years ago to the day, I witnessed the aftermath of my 82-year-old dad’s suicide. He didn’t leave a note to explain why (it wasn’t his style), but I believe his decision was based around his physical, then mental decline and an impending diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
Sam Southern is a Lead Suicide Prevention and Bereavement Coordinator at Empowerment Charity in Blackpool. As a dedicated mother of five, Sam has faced adversity, including the tragic loss of her husband to suicide in June 2020. This experience has driven her passion and commitment to raise awareness and offer hope to those who may be struggling. In this guest blog Sam reflects on hope, and being chosen to walk with the Baton of Hope in Manchester.
Palma Black is the founder of Soul Purpose 360 CIC, a coaching, mentoring and training social enterprise for Black women; blending community development with personal development. She is a Personal Performance Coach who is passionate about empowering individuals to live fulfilling lives. In this blog, she explores her experience growing up in England faced with racial harassment and looks at what Windrush means 75 years later.
Ellie Hatto is the Founder and CEO of Beside Yourself CIC and Co-founder of Voices – People with Living Experience of Suicide (Hampshire County Council). In this blog she shares her reflections on joining our 2023 Spokesperson Programme and what she learnt from her fellow spokespeople at our residential to help her face her fears.
Craig Jones MBE is Executive Chair at Fighting with Pride supporting LGBTQ+ veterans who 20+ years on have felt the lifelong impacts of the military ban on homosexuality. In the week that this community awaits the findings of LGBTQ+ Veterans Independent Review, a new film Forced Out exposes the treatment of LGBT+ military personnel before the ban was lifted and highlights why reparations must be given.
Today we are excited to announce our new cohort who will be taking part in our 2023 Spokesperson Programme for grassroots leaders with lived experience of social injustice and inequality.
Steve Arnott, Founder and CEO of Beats Bus Records in Hull, shares how the long lasting impact of stigma against poverty manifests and explains his work with Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s design team ‘Exploring Stigma and Poverty’. Steve is part of the Sounddelivery Media Spokesperson Network.
