I’ve been volunteering for over a year for The Listening Place (TLP), an award-winning mental health charity that supports people who feel life is not worth living. This became a very important part of my life and it’s been very fulfilling and rewarding to be a part of an amazing team and community and engage in activities which many vulnerable people can benefit from. This year I’m going the extra mile (literally) by running a half-marathon to raise awareness of TLP’s cause and raise funds for this charity.
The Listening Place addresses a taboo subject: suicide. Very few people are aware of the fact that every day 18 people in the UK take their own life. According to the deeply saddening reports, suicide is the leading cause of death among men under 45 and among all people under 35.
Despite this, effective, ongoing suicide support is hard to find. The Listening Place meets this need through free, face-to-face, non-judgemental, confidential suicide support. Support is delivered by highly-trained volunteers and continues for as long as someone needs.
The Listening Place has a long-term plan to expand across London and eventually offer support to every suicidal person in the capital. Since opening in 2016, The Listening Place has supported over 10,000
people who were feeling suicidal, and is currently supporting 1,200
individuals in ongoing appointments. In April, their new centre in Hammersmith was opened, making it the third centre after the ones in Pimlico and near King’s Cross and allowing to increase the capacity and support a total of 5,000 people a year.
If you want to know more about The Listening Place:
- listen to an interview with the CEO Sarah Anderson:
https://www.everywoman.com/podcast-time-talk-challenging-taboos-mental-health-sarah-anderson-cbe-ceo-listening-place
- or watch a short video clip: https://vimeo.com/704942180
- or visit TLP’s website https://listeningplace.org.uk/
If you find this cause (and my effort) important and worthy of your support, and if you want to make an impact, please leave a donation and/or share this with others. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
