Who we are

Our Support After Suicide Service is for people who have been bereaved by suicide who live, work or study in the 5 North West London boroughs of Camden, Islington, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey

We can also provide support if you live, work or study outside of the 5 boroughs but are bereaved by a suicide that occurred within the 5 boroughs.

Our core opening hours are Monday - Friday 9am-5pm. We can also provide support up to 8pm, so that you can access us at a time that suits you best.

We know that people bereaved by suicide need support at the time that is right for them – we support people at any stage of bereavement, including immediately after your loss or in the longer term when you feel ready to access support.

We support those immediately affected by suicide e.g. families and friends but also to those who have been exposed to suicide e.g. neighbours, schools, colleges, social groups, and healthcare professionals.

We support all people who have been bereaved by suicide including those from diverse communities and this includes people from Black And Minority Ethnic (BAME), LGBTQ+, older people, children and young people and people with learning disabilities and autism and other disabilities. 

If you need a translator or interpreter in order to access our service then please get in touch with us to discuss your needs.

Our staff and volunteer team is made up of people from a range of different and diverse backgrounds with a range of different personal and professional experience. Some of our staff team and volunteers will have personal experience of bereavement by suicide and this helps inform our approach and delivery of the service.

You can download our publicity materials for free 

• NCL Support After Suicide Poster
• NCL Support After Suicide Leaflet
• NCL Support After Suicide Referral form - Word Format or PDF format

We deliver support via 121 face to face visits or via remote support. This includes a choice of options including telephone calls, video calls via Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Skype, Whats app video, text message and email depending on your preference.

How to refer and access support

We accept referrals and self-referrals for support from the service.

If you want to self-refer you can download our referral form below and email this back to us or you can call us and we can complete the referral form on your behalf.

If you want to refer someone else for support then please download our referral form above and email this back to us at supportaftersuicide@rethink.org

What we can provide

121 Support

121 support from a Suicide Bereavement Worker for 6 personalised weekly support sessions followed by 6 fortnightly sessions with the option to extend support if needed.

After the 121 sessions end, we provide monthly check-in sessions for 6 months & we provide support on the anniversary of the bereavement.

The 121 support will provide

• Person centred, emotional support to talk about the bereavement, discuss coping strategies & find ways of dealing with your loss
• Signposting & referral to other services
• Practical support including help to navigate processes e.g. police, funeral arrangements, inquests & support to talk your employer,
• Advocacy to help have your voice heard & speak out

Bereavement Peer Support Groups

A closed support group with a maximum of 6 participants. The group is facilitated by a Suicide Bereavement Worker & a volunteer with lived experience of bereavement by suicide.

The group will last for 12 weekly sessions, lasting 1-1.5-hours & is held in each of the boroughs on a quarterly basis.

The groups provide;

• A safe/supportive space to discuss & explore without judgement - bereavement by suicide, trauma, loss and grief on yourself, your family & networks
• Share stories & experiences in a safe environment.
• Gain peer support, build connections with others
• Break down the myths & stigma associated with suicide & bereavement by suicide

Contact us

Tel: 07483 368 700

Email: supportaftersuicide@rethink.org

North West London Community grant scheme

£237,000 funding available for the year through NW London Integrated Care System. We are asking voluntary and community organisations in N W London to consider new, innovative ways to address risk factors contributing to suicide or self-harm, or those that have arisen as a result of the pandemic.

We want to fund projects which contribute to lowering suicide rates by:

• Developing and expanding mental health provision through co-production or community engagement
• Addressing suicidal ideation
• Encouraging partnership and collaborative working
• Providing a social response to suicide prevention

Click here to find out more about the community grant scheme.

Other Services and Organisations 

We have produced a list of other services, helplines and organisations may be of use to you and you can find out about these by clicking on this link

Useful Resources, Training and Factsheets

We have collated information on a range of useful booklets, factsheets, training course and video about suicide.

You can view them by clicking here

What do you think of us?

Friends & Family Test

We really value the feedback of people who come into contact with our service.

You can visit this link to complete one quick question anonymously to let us know your views.

Select London from the 'Region' drop down box and then select 'NCL Support After Suicide' to enter your feedback.

Alternatively you can give us feedback by

• calling us on 07483 368 700
• emailing us at supportaftersuicide@rethink.org
• speaking to one of our team in a group or 121 support session
• making a complaint on our website here

Get Involved

We want to involve people with lived experience of bereavement by suicide in the delivery our service. 

We have various Volunteer and Peer Worker roles available which include;

• Service Advisory Group / Co Design Role - This role includes being part of a group of people who have been bereaved by suicide helping us evaluate, monitor and design the service. This can include attending meetings, reviewing information and publicity materials for the service
• Service Promotion Volunteer or Peer Worker Role – These roles will help us by attending events, speaking out about personal experiences of being bereaved by suicide and taking part in other promotional activities.
• Volunteer or Peer Worker one-to-one peer support – This role will be there to offer some additional support to people bereaved by suicide on a one-2-one basis. This will be in addition to the structured support delivered by the Suicide Bereavement Worker. This can include peer support to help others join in with local groups, social activities or to support people who are isolated or need some additional time to talk.
• Peer Worker Bereavement Support Group Facilitator – This role will involve Co-facilitating groups alongside Suicide Bereavement Workers. The bereavement support groups provide 12 weekly sessions lasting 1-1.5-hour giving a safe/supportive space for people to be able to discuss their bereavement. We aim to hold one Bereavement Support Group in each borough each quarter dependant on demand.
• Volunteer Counsellors / Volunteer Trainee Counsellor Placements – This role is for trained counsellors to be able to volunteer to offer free formal counselling sessions to people using the service or for trainee counsellors to be able to provide free formal counselling sessions to people using the service as part of their training hours required for their course. These roles will not require lived experience of bereavement by suicide, however if the individual has this experience this would be an added advantage.
• Peer Group Coordinators/facilitators - We have a growing network of 140+ peer-led self-sustaining Groups. We want to support and encourage volunteers to facilitate new peer-led groups providing ongoing mutual support, increasing long-term resilience and reduce social isolation which people who are bereaved can access after they stop using the other aspects of our service. 

Full training and support will be given for all Volunteer and Peer Worker roles.

Please contact us via email if you wish to get involved.