For the first time in our 28-year history, we have launched an emergency appeal to keep our suicide prevention helpline, HOPELINE247, running through the night. Without urgent support, we may be forced to make the devastating decision to cut back our services.
Every three minutes, a distressed young person contacts HOPELINE247, our suicide prevention helpline. These calls, texts, and messages come during their darkest hours—often in the middle of the night, when other services aren’t available to them.
Since extending HOPELINE247 to a 24/7 service last year, demand has surged. In 2024 alone, we had 12,000 life-saving interactions during the night and saw a 66% increase in the number of young people seeking help through our webchat service. These numbers tell us how vital our work is, but rising costs and a sharp decline in donations across the charity sector have brought us to a critical moment.
We are not just a listening service. Our trained suicide prevention advisors actively engage with young people to identify their own reasons for staying safe from suicide. On average in 2024, there were 32 lifesaving interactions per night. This tells us how vital our work is in the twilight hours, when so many young people are struggling through their darkest time.
Right now, someone is on the phone contacting one of our professional advisers. Your donations to our emergency appeal will directly fund HOPELINE247, ensuring we can answer calls, texts, and messages from a young person seeking hope, no matter what time it is.
This is why we’re calling on the OMBLES to help us spread the word!
One Minute Brief of the Day:
Create posters to raise awareness for PAPYRUS’ fight to prevent young suicides and to keep their helpline, HOPELINE247, operational through the night.
To enter… tweet your entries to @OneMinuteBriefs and @PAPYRUS_Charity with the hashtags #PapyrusCharity and #HOPELINE247 and include a link: justgiving.com/campaign/papyrusemergencyappeal
Get creative and enter as many times as you wish. Remember your Twitter/X handle in the corner of your entries. Deadline 6pm GMT - 19/02/2025
We’d also love to see you sharing your entries as posts and stories on Instagram to @OneMinuteBriefs & @Papyrus_UK
Prize: Winner receives a big Papyrus ‘goodie bag’ full or merch!!
More about the Emergency Appeal
PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide CEO, Ged Flynn, says he makes no apology for appealing directly to the public for help: “No child or young person deserves to be alone with thoughts of suicide. Our work shines a ray of hope into the darkness. Suicides devastate families and friendships, shatter schools and shake the very foundations of our local communities. Every life lost is a tragic waste and yet we believe many young suicides can be prevented.”
“Everyone has a role to play and with your generosity PAPYRUS will be able to continue our work, which is far from done. Suicide rates remain stubbornly high and somehow, we must overcome the obstacles we face, find the money we need and help our children and young people to choose life,” he said.
If we see someone struggling, we often want to do everything we can to help, don’t we? Right now, thousands of young people are suffering with suicidal thoughts. And our helpline, HOPELINE247, is the lifeline keeping them afloat. HOPELINE247 isn’t just for those struggling with suicidal thoughts—it’s also for parents, friends, and anyone worried about a loved one. If you’ve ever struggled or felt suicide was the way out, think of those who are in that space right now. So please, if you can, donate whatever you can today so we can continue to support those who need us most. Thank you.
To donate to the PAPYRUS emergency appeal, go to: www.justgiving.com/campaign/papyrusemergencyappeal
Mission Vision Values
Our mission
PAPYRUS exists to reduce the number of young people who take their own lives, by shattering the stigma surrounding suicide and equipping young people and their communities with the skills to recognise and respond to emotional distress. We believe that no young person should have to struggle alone with thoughts of suicide.
Our vision
PAPYRUS envisions a society which speaks openly about suicide and has the resources to help young people who have suicidal thoughts.
Our values and beliefs
PREVENTION: Many young suicides are preventable.
PASSION: Those who are touched personally by a young suicide have a unique contribution to make to our work.
HOPE: No young person should have to suffer alone with thoughts or feelings of hopelessness, and nobody should have to go through the heartbreak of losing a young person to suicide.
LEARNING: Everyone can play a role in preventing young suicide
About HOPELINE247
Full info: https://www.papyrus-uk.org/papyrus-HOPELINE247/
HOPELINE247 is a free, confidential, and anonymous support service available via telephone, email, text, and webchat. It provides crucial assistance to young people under 35 experiencing suicidal thoughts, as well as giving help and advice to their concerned parents, carers, teachers, and friends. Key features of the helpline include:
BSL and Multi-Language Support – No other mental health helpline in the UK offers British Sign Language services alongside extensive language interpretation options.
HOPELINE Safety Plan – This innovative feature allows allows a young person to collaborate with an adviser and work out their own reasons for staying safe and techniques particular to them that work. They can access their safety plan any time after their initial conversation.
Debrief Support – This is a vital service for those who have encountered suicide first-hand, giving them a safe space to process their experience and receive guidance.
HOPELINE247 advisers want to work with people to understand why thoughts of suicide might be present. They also want to provide young people and concerned others with a safe space to talk through anything happening in their life that could be impacting on their or anyone else’s ability to stay safe.
For children and young people under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide.
For anyone concerned that a young person could be thinking about suicide.
Young people
Our advisers are all trained to help you focus on staying safe from suicide. Their training enables them to provide advice and support that may help you to move forward and stay alive.
Concerned others
If you are concerned that a young person is feeling suicidal, advisers can support you to start a conversation about suicide and explore options of how best to support them.
Contact HOPELINE247
If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned for a young person who might be you can contact HOPELINE247 for confidential support and practical advice.
Call: 0800 068 4141
Text: 88247
Email: pat@papyrus-uk.org
Opening hours: Lines are open 24 hours every day of the year (Weekends and Bank Holidays included)
KEY FACTS:
In 2024…
66% increase in the number of young people reaching out for help through our webchat service in 2024.
In 2024 we spent 237 days on calls which equals 341,280 minutes.
Every day in 2024, our team spent an average of 15.6 hours on calls, offering critical support and care.
The night-time shift had over 12,000 lifesaving interactions in 2024.
Average age of contact during night-time shift is 25-year-old.
1518 safety plans created in 2024 and are viewed an average of 6 times. A third of these are created by people under the age of 19. Most Safety Plans are viewed between 10pm and 11pm.
20% of all contacts are concerned others.
50 debriefs provided in 2024.
Supported 74 police officers, ambulance workers, doctors and nurses who were experiencing thoughts of suicide and listed their profession as contributing factor to their thoughts of suicide.
Suicide is not a criminal act
When reporting suicide we urge you not to use the term ‘committed suicide’.
Changes made in the Suicide Act of 1961 decriminalised the act of suicide in the UK. The word ‘commit’ treats it as if it were still a crime, which perpetuates the stigma around suicide and is offensive to families and friends.
Reporting suicide
When reporting suicide please consider, not only the grief of family and friends of the deceased, but other vulnerable young people who may be feeling worthless and not coping with life at that time and for whom explicit descriptions of suicide method could offer a life escape route. It is well known that insensitive media reporting of suicide can prompt imitative behaviour. Evidence about the potential for imitative behaviour is strong.
Make sure you take a look at our TONE OF VOICE GUIDELINES before entering.
justgiving.com/campaign/papyrusemergencyappeal
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Visit our Just Giving page here: https://justgiving.com/campaign/papyrusemergencyappeal
Website: https://www.papyrus-uk.org/papyrus-HOPELINE247/
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