Small Talk Saves Lives, says Samaritans

A person sitting alone and isolated on a station platform - Small Talk Saves Lives, says Samaritans

Samaritans is launching a campaign with British Transport Police, Network Rail and the wider rail industry to give travellers the confidence to trust their instincts and act if they notice someone who may be at risk of suicide in or around a station.

By highlighting that suicidal thoughts can be temporary and interrupted with something as simple as a question, the campaign aims to give the public the tools to spot a potentially vulnerable person, start a conversation with them, and let them know support is available, including contacting Samaritans.

Small Talk Saves Lives has been developed after research showed passengers have a key role to play in suicide prevention.

Further research showed the majority are willing to act, but many wanted reassurance they would not ‘make things worse’.

The campaign draws on insights from successful interventions made by rail staff who have been trained by Samaritans in suicide prevention. For each life lost, six are saved and the hope is to increase further the number of life-saving interventions.

A survey of people who travel by train, carried out for the campaign, revealed more than four out of five would approach someone who may be suicidal if they knew the signs to look out for, what to say, and that they wouldn’t make the situation worse. Nearly nine out of 10 hought a person in need of support would find it hard to ask for help.

Small Talk Saves Lives encourages travellers to notice what may be warning signs, e.g. a person standing alone and isolated, looking distant or withdrawn, staying on the platform a long time without boarding a train or displaying something out of the ordinary in their behaviour or appearance. There is no single sign or combination of behaviours that mean a person is suicidal but, if something does not feel right, the message is to act.

The emphasis is on responding in ways people feel comfortable and safe with. Different courses of action are suggested, depending on the situation and the response. They range from approaching the person and asking them a question to distract them from their thoughts to involving other passengers, alerting a member of rail staff or calling the police.

The campaign was also developed in consultation with people who have been personally affected by suicide, including where a loved one has taken their life on the railways.

Samaritans CEO Ruth Sutherland said; ‘Suicide is everybody’s business and any one of us could have an opportunity to save a life.

"We have worked carefully with the public, rail travellers and those bereaved by suicide to ensure that this campaign is delivered sensitively but with real impact.

"The knowledge and skills to save lives in the rail environment can be applied to many other situations.

"We hope that Small Talk Saves Lives is the start of a much wider conversation about how suicide is preventable.”