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About SASP

The Support After Suicide Partnership (SASP) are recognised experts on suicide postvention.

We support a wide range of organisations to adopt best practice in suicide bereavement service provision, and currently count over 120 members in our network.

Who we are

The Support after Suicide Partnership was founded in 2013 to transform the support people impacted by suicide receive in the UK.

Our vision is that everyone bereaved or affected by suicide is offered timely and appropriate support.

We are on a mission to ensure every area of the UK has excellent, local bereavement support services.

To do this, we equip services with the knowledge and resources they need to deliver excellent support for everyone affected by suicide. This includes creating opportunities to share best practice, creating resources in response to member need, and conducting research.

We also work with national changemakers to make sure that excellent suicide bereavement support is available in every area of the UK.

And when we say everyone affected by suicide deserves excellent support, we mean everyone. We work to centre the experiences of marginalised groups affected by suicide, by working closely with community organisations, highlighting lived experience through research, and addressing inequalities in access to services and support. 

SASP grows around the issues. We continue to build and diversify our membership, adapt to emerging challenges, and lead conversations across the sector about suicide bereavement.

Why our work matters

Suicide affects all of us. We have a responsibility to make sure that people bereaved by suicide get the care and support that they need, when they need it.

More than 6,800 people died by suicide across England, Wales and Scotland in 2023. And research suggests that up to 135 people are affected by each suicide (Cerel et al., 2018).

Bereavement by suicide can be devastating. It is common for people to feel intense grief, guilt, and shame, and to develop mental and physical health problems which affect their work and relationships. The stigma surrounding suicide can cause people to become isolated and feel hopeless.

Supporting people affected by suicide can be tough. But you’re not alone. If you work with people who have been affected by suicide, SASP can connect you to a supportive network of other professionals in similar roles.

Steering Group

SASP and our sister organisation, the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA), share a steering group. Please find details of our steering group members here.

Patrons

Hamish Elvidge

Founder and Patron

Hamish founded the SASP in 2013. He chaired the Partnership until 2021 and, over this time, it has grown from the initial 10 members to over 80. He founded our close collaboration with NHS England to deliver suicide bereavement support in every area of England, by 2024. Hamish is Chair of The Matthew Elvidge Trust, which was formed after his son Matthew took his own life in 2009. The Trust aims to increase everyone’s understanding of the importance of good mental health, how to keep well… and ensure that people who need help receive the right support quickly. Hamish had a 30 career at J Sainsbury PLC and is a member of various national organisations connected with school and university mental health education, suicide prevention and bereavement support. These include the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, the City Mental Health Alliance Advisory Board, the Mental Health in Higher Education Advisory Group and the Schools’ Wellbeing Partnership.

Angela Samata

Patron

Angela presented the BBC1 BAFTA nominated and winner of the Mind Media Award for Best Factual TV documentary, ‘Life After Suicide’. The film challenged the stigma of suicide, with Angela sharing her experiences and that of her children after her partner took his own life 14 years ago. The documentary was reshown as part of the BBC’s Mental Health Season #InTheMind and was watched worldwide by over 4.5 million viewers. Angela is uniquely qualified to represent the views of those bereaved by suicide and was for 4 years as Chair and is now Ambassador, of the Survivors of the Bereaved by Suicide. Under her Chairmanship the number of support groups doubled, offering support to over 7,000 people bereaved by suicide each year. Angela is also an invited attendee of the All-Party Parliamentary Group looking at Suicide Prevention in England and Wales. Her charity work, together with the making of the documentary was recognised as Angela was named as the Merseyside Woman of the Year 2015. As a freelance Arts professional for over a decade, Angela continues to work with individual artists and arts organisations, while also speaking publicly about mental health issues. Often her work in Mental Health and the Arts come together and in 2018 she will complete a Winston Churchill Fellowship looking at both disciplines.

Barry McGale

Patron

Barry is a Cognitive Therapist and is the 2016 winner of the American Association of Suicidology,  Roger J Tierney Award for services in suicide prevention. He was the Suicide Awareness Co-ordinator in the Western Health & Social Care Trust. Barry has worked globally to improve suicide prevention services. He was instrumental in bringing the ASIST and Safetalk programmes to the UK and Ireland. He is a Senior Coaching Trainer with Living Works Incorporated and delivers ASIST Training for Trainers. The current service in the Western Trust has been recognised as a model that should be replicated throughout the UK. Barry is a member of the Scottish Executive’s Research Expert Group on Suicidal Behaviour, a former Director of the Board of the Irish Association of Suicidology, and a member of the American Association of Suicidology. He was the Chairperson of Youthlife. In 2013, Barry was appointed to the Executive Committee of The National Suicide Research Foundation (Ireland).

Professor Alexandra Pitman

Patron

Professor Alexandra Pitman is a Professor in Psychiatry in the UCL Division of Psychiatry and an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust. Her research interests are in the epidemiology of suicide and self-harm, and preventing suicide. She conducted a national survey of people bereaved by suicide, which found that people bereaved by suicide are at greater risk of suicide attempt than people bereaved by other sudden deaths, and significantly more likely to perceive stigma and a lack of informal support. She co-leads the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded Loneliness and Social Isolation in Mental Health research network. She was a member of PHE's Expert Reference Group on suicide bereavement and contributed to the 2017 PHE publication 'Support after a suicide: a guide to providing local services.' She has been widely funded to conduct research into the impact of bereavement.  

Head Office

Michelle Stebbings

Executive Lead

Michelle Stebbings joined us in March 2020 as the new Executive Lead for SASP. Michelle has a wealth of experience in the charity sector having worked in a variety of outreach, engagement and programme management roles at Tourettes Action, Diabetes UK and PAPYRUS. Michelle's most recent role was with Gambling with Lives where she was responsible for developing and growing a family support service for people bereaved by gambling related suicide.

Richa Mitra

Implementation Manager

Richa joined the team in June 2023, she has worked in the charity sector for several years now, having worked in frontline Psychology roles since finishing university. She initially worked within international development (through education and health programmes) before working in a range of mental health charities and most recently in the Rail team at Samaritans. Richa leads our work with NHS England to provide suicide bereavement support in every area of the country; co-ordinating our Central Hub, driving the development of services, and providing bespoke support to STPs.

Charlotte Payne

Membership and Communications Officer

Chair of SASP

Simon Blake OBE

Chair

Simon Blake OBE joined MHFA England as Chief Executive in October 2018, leading the organisation to achieve its vision of normalising society’s attitudes and behaviours around mental health, through training one in ten of the population in mental health skills and awareness.  As well as Chairing SASP he Chairs the Dying Matters Campaign based at Hospices UK and the Headspace International Advisory Board. He is also a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute. He is a writer, campaigner and trainer and was awarded an OBE for services to the voluntary sector and young people in 2011. He enjoys running, equestrian eventing and his dog.