You'll find CALM wherever we're needed

WHY?

• ON AVERAGE, 125 PEOPLE TAKE THEIR OWN LIVES EVERY WEEK IN THE UK.

• SUICIDE IS THE BIGGEST KILLER OF MEN UNDER 45

• 75% OF PEOPLE WHO TAKE THEIR OWN LIVES ARE NOT KNOWN TO MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES OR HAVE NOT BEEN IN TOUCH WITH MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES WITHIN THE LAST YEAR.

• 135 PEOPLE ARE DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY EVERY SUICIDE.

THAT’S NOT OK. AND IT’S WHY WE WORK WITH A WHOLE HOST OF PEOPLE IN A WIDE RANGE OF PLACES SO EVERYONE CAN GET THE HELP THEY NEED WHEN THEY NEED IT, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY’RE FROM, AND WHATEVER THEIR BACKGROUND.

EACH YEAR OVER 6000 PEOPLE TAKE THEIR OWN LIVES, THE REASONS FOR DOING SO ARE MULTIPLE AND OFTEN DIFFICULT TO UNPICK. WE CAN’T FIGHT THIS TRAGEDY ALONE, WHICH IS WHY WE NEED A HUGE COMMUNITY THAT BACKS OUR AMBITIONS. THERE’S 5 REASONS WE PARTNER WITH PEOPLE, ORGANISATIONS AND BRANDS. HERE THEY ARE IN A LITTLE MORE DETAIL:

WORKING WHERE PEOPLE ARE

YOU’LL FIND US EVERYWHERE, FROM PUBS TO PUBLIC LOOS, AT GIGS, AND ON THE TRAIN YOU TOOK TO GET TO THEM. BY BEING PRESENT AND APPROACHABLE IN THE PLACES THAT REAL PEOPLE GO TO, AND SPEAKING IN A WAY PEOPLE CAN RELATE TO, THEY’RE MORE LIKELY TO USE CALM’S LIFE-SAVING SERVICES WHEN THEY NEED THEM.

THE MOVEMENT AGAINST SUICIDE CAN ONLY BE EFFECTIVE IF WE WORK TOGETHER ACROSS INDUSTRIES, POLITICAL BELIEFS AND STRATAS OF SOCIETY TO MAKE SUPPORT AVAILABLE AND ACCESSIBLE. BY BEING PRESENT IN THOSE AREAS WHERE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES OFTEN GO UNRECOGNISED OR IGNORED, WE OPEN UP THE CONVERSATION TO EVERYONE. WE MOVE IT FORWARD, TACKLE TABOOS, AND, CRUCIALLY, STOP PEOPLE REACHING CRISIS POINT.

WE NEVER WANT TO EXCLUDE ANYONE FROM THE MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATION, WHICH MEANS OUR VOCABULARY AND APPROACH SHOULD BE CLEAR, CONCISE AND ACCESSIBLE. AFTER ALL, WE’RE MORE LIKELY TO TAKE ON NEW IDEAS, AND CHALLENGE OLD ONES WHEN WE FEEL COMFORTABLE, FAMILIAR, AND ARE MAYBE EVEN HAVING A LITTLE FUN.

REACHING AUDIENCES WHO NEED OUR SERVICES MOST

THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST LIVING MISERABLY (CALM) STARTED OUT AS A GOVERNMENT FUNDED HELPLINE TO REACH THE PREVIOUSLY UN-CATERED FOR MALE AUDIENCE STATISTICALLY MORE AT RISK FROM SUICIDE. TODAY, 23 YEARS ON, OUR SERVICES ARE THERE FOR ANYONE WHO NEEDS THEM, AND WE CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON REACHING AUDIENCES WHO ARE OTHERWISE LEFT OUT OF THE MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATION AND WHO ARE ARE MORE AT RISK OF SUICIDE.

WE WORK WITH A WHOLE HOST OF PEOPLE, FROM YOUR FAVOURITE ARTISTS TO YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE FOOTBALL TEAM (SORRY), TO TRY TO REACH AS MANY PEOPLE WHO COULD BENEFIT FROM OUR SERVICES AS POSSIBLE. THAT MEANS TEAMING UP WITH OTHER CHARITIES, BRANDS AND ORGANISATIONS, AS WELL AS WITH OUR CALM AMBASSADORS AND TRUSTEES TO GET THE MESSAGE ACROSS WHERE IT IS TRULY NEEDED MOST. THAT INCLUDES INSIDE PRISONS, ACROSS THE HOMELESS COMMUNITY, AND WITHIN LGBTQ+ COMMUNITIES.

BEING PART OF DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS

WE’RE PRESENT IN PLACES THAT YOU MIGHT NOT EXPECT US TO BE. THAT’S BECAUSE MENTAL WELLBEING DOESN’T EXIST IN A VACUUM – IT’S INFLUENCED BY ALL THE OTHER STUFF WE DO IN OUR DAILY LIVES.

THERE’S A WHOLE HOST OF DIFFERENT THINGS OUR MENTAL HEALTH CAN BE IMPACTED AND AFFECTED BY. OUR PROFESSIONAL HELPLINE STAFF TALK TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE EVERY MONTH WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH LIFE’S LOW POINTS FOR A VARIETY AND COMBINATION OF REASONS – THOSE INCLUDE RELATIONSHIPS, ADDICTION, FINANCIAL INSECURITY, LONELINESS, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND OTHER MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.

AND THAT’S WHY WE NEVER SHY AWAY FROM A DIFFICULT CONVERSATION, AND NEVER REJECT AN OPPORTUNITY OUT OF HAND THAT COULD PUT US IN TOUCH WITH THE AUDIENCES WHO NEED US MOST. BY BEING HONEST, APPROACHABLE, PRACTICAL AND NON-JUDGEMENTAL IN SPACES TRADITIONALLY LEFT OUT OF MENTAL HEALTH CHAT, WE CONTINUE TO BREAK THE STIGMA AROUND MENTAL WELLBEING.

BEFORE WE MAKE ANY DECISION ON WHO WE WORK WITH, WE CONSIDER EACH POTENTIAL PARTNER’S IMPACT ON THE WIDER COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENT. OUR PARTNERSHIPS DON’T MEAN WE CONDONE PAST, PRESENT OR FUTURE BEHAVIOURS OF ORGANISATIONS OR THEIR MEMBERS, BUT THAT WE RECOGNISE THE NEED FOR OUR SERVICES AMONGST THE AUDIENCES THEY SPEAK TO.

HELPING TO DELIVER OUR LIFE-SAVING SERVICES

PARTNERSHIPS ALSO ALLOW US TO FUND AND IMPROVE OUR LIFE-SAVING SERVICES, WHICH TOOK OVER 120,000 CALLS LAST YEAR ALONE AND DIRECTLY PREVENTED 588 SUICIDES. AS AN ORGANISATION WE HAVE CONTINUED TO GROW AND SPREAD OUR MESSAGE THANKS TO CAMPAIGNS AND ACTIVITIES WITH A WIDE RANGE OF PARTNERS. IN FACT, THE DEMAND FOR OUR SERVICES GREW BY 91% BETWEEN 2017 AND 2019, MEANING WE SPEAK TO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE STRUGGLING EVERY SINGLE WEEK – SOLID PROOF THAT THE WAY WE WORK IS EFFECTIVE AND MAKING AN IMPACT ON THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT OTHERWISE HAVE ACCESSED SUPPORT.

WORKING TOGETHER TO MAKE SUICIDE PREVENTION AN EVERYDAY PRIORITY

WHAT’S CLEAR TO US IS THAT WORKING TOGETHER WITH PEOPLE, BRANDS AND ORGANISATIONS THAT TRULY WANT TO IMPROVE THE MENTAL WELLBEING OF THEIR STAFF AND AUDIENCES, MEANS WE CAN MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE WHERE IT MATTERS, ACCESS CRITICAL FUNDS TO MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE OUR SERVICES, AND HELP THE PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST. IT’S WHY WE STARTED OUT, AND IT’S WHY WE CONTINUE TO PUSH FORWARD WITH INNOVATIVE, AND SOMETIMES EVEN CONTROVERSIAL, WAYS OF MAKING SUICIDE PREVENTION AN EVERYDAY PRIORITY.

A NOTE ON HOW WE CHOOSE PARTNERS

OUR PARTNERS DEMONSTRATE A COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING CALM’S SERVICES AND ALIGN WITH THE CHARITY’S LONG TERM AMBITIONS. BEFORE WE GO AHEAD WITH ANY PARTNERSHIP, CALM ENSURES A THOROUGH SAFE-GUARDING AND RISK-ASSESSMENT IS UNDERTAKEN AND THAT THE CALM PARTNERSHIP PRINCIPLES ARE MET. WE ONLY GO AHEAD WITH PARTNERSHIPS IN WHICH WE ARE CONFIDENT WE CAN CONTRIBUTE AUTHENTICALLY AND TRANSPARENTLY AND WHERE WE BELIEVE THE BRAND, ORGANISATION OR INDIVIDUALS ARE DEDICATED TO PLAYING AN ACTIVE ROLE IN IMPROVING THE MENTAL HEALTH OF THEIR AUDIENCE, STAFF AND COMMUNITY.