Barbers to be trained in suicide prevention

An initiative to train barbers to identify vulnerable clients as part of a bid to reduce the number of men who take their own lives has been extended to the Isle of Man.

Barber Talk is being rolled out as part of the island's Suicide Prevention Strategy, a five year plan with the aim to eventually eliminate deaths by suicide.

Between 2006 and 2021, 156 people took their own lives, with the rate among men three times higher than women and middle-aged men being at the highest risk.

Launched by Public Health Isle of Man, the initiative will be delivered in October by Barber Talk UK, which is dedicated to raising suicide prevention awareness.

Local and trainee barbers will be taught how to recognise signs that a client is struggling, what questions to ask, how to listen well and direct clients to support available.

About 3,500 barber shops have participated in the programme in the UK.

Joney Faragher MHK, who was part of a group that helped to create the island's strategy, said she thought it was a "brilliant initiative".

She said the move was important because everyone was able to "upskill" and it would help to raise awareness and training within the general population.

A freedom of information response published last month showed that in 2023, there were 14 inquests with verdicts of suicide.

Ms Faragher highlighted the Isle of Man's figures for a population of 85,000 were higher than the UK where the average was 10 per 100,000, but acknowledged island populations tended to have higher suicide rates.

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