Local support

NHS 111

Anyone needing urgent mental health support can now call NHS 111 and select the mental health option for 24/7 access to urgent support.

Mersey Care

24hr Mental Health Crisis Line

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust have a 24hr mental health crisis line for St Helens, Knowsley, Warrington and Halton: FREEPHONE 0800 051 1508

Children and Adolescent 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Response Team

This Mersey Care service is available for children and young people up to the age of 18, who are registered with a GP in Halton, Knowsley, St Helens and Warrington. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. CALL: 01744 415 640

Visit the Mersey Care website for more information.

OK TO ASK

The OK TO ASK campaign is a local initiative which encourages everyone in St Helens to NOT be afraid to talk about suicide prevention - in order to help save the lives of those who might be.

By spotting and recognising the signals, breaking down stigma and silence and learning what to do when you think someone you know wants to end their own life, we can all help prevent suicide.

Visit the OK TO ASK campaign website for more information and for details of support services.

St Helens Wellbeing Service

St Helens Wellbeing Service provide a number of initiatives to support wellbeing:

• Online training: one-hour sessions via Microsoft Teams on topics such as 5 Ways to Wellbeing, stress and anxiety, and basic suicide awareness. 
• Men's Wellbeing Project: FREE activities for men to help boost wellbeing.
• Happy to Chat benches: located at various sites across St Helens, the Happy to Chat benches provide a place for people to stop and chat with others.

Talking Therapies

Talking Therapies offers free NHS therapy for people registered with a St Helens GP with common mental health problems such as anxiety, stress or depression. Visit the Mersey Care website for more information.

Parents in Mind

If you are feeling low, anxious, disinterested in your usual activities and are pregnant or within two years of giving birth, then the Parents in Mind's friendly, welcoming support may be for you. They provide support groups where you can meet others going through similar experiences, seek information, talk things through, or simply relax. Visit the Parents in Mind website for more information.

ChatHealth

ChatHealth is a confidential text messaging service for young people aged 11-19 in St Helens. Led by the School Nursing Service (part of the 0-19+ Service in St Helens), young people aged 11-19 can access confidential advice and support from school nurses via text on a range of health and wellbeing issues.

ChatHealth is available between 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday (including school holidays and excluding bank holidays) and is accessed by texting 07312263250. Visit the 0-19+ Service website for more information.

Thrive

In St Helens we have a wide range of services available to support children and young people's emotional and mental wellbeing. Support is available within the community as well as in local education settings. Most of the services are available for children and young people aged 0-18 years old, but some offer support for children and young people with SEND up to age 25.

Visit the Thrive website to find the service that can best support you and your needs. If you have any queries about any of the services listed, please contact the service directly who will be happy to help.

MENtal Strength

A pocket guide has been developed in partnership with the Think Fast Academy to support men with their mental health. View the MENtal Strength guide.

HIMvisible

HIMvisible is a St Helens-based mental health awareness group, making the invisible struggles of men in this world visible. Visit the HIMvisible website for more information.

Standing Tall Foundation

The Standing Tall Foundation is a charity based in St Helens, founded in 2020 by Andy Reid MBE and John F Tabern MSc. They promote the mental health and physical wellbeing of all community groups, by providing free professional support and services. Visit the Standing Tall Foundation website for more information.

Andy's Man Club

Andy's Man Club run talking groups for men who have either been through a storm, are currently going through a storm, have a storm brewing in life or just want to meet a good group of people with the aim of improving one another. No referral, no registration and no charge. Even the brew and biscuits are free! Visit the Andy's Man Club website for more information. 

Arts on Prescription

Creative Alternatives is an award-winning arts on prescription service that offers residents of St Helens the opportunity to access a FREE programme that is centred around creative activities, wellbeing and self-care. Visit the Creative Alternatives website for more information.

Reading Well

The Reading Well scheme helps people manage their own health and wellbeing through recommended self-help books. Visit the Reading Well page for more information.

James' Place

James' Place provides free, life-saving therapy to suicidal men through a quick, safe and effective intervention that is available at the point of crisis in our centres in Liverpool, London and Newcastle. Together with our trained, professional therapists, we can help you understand how you got to the point of suicidal crisis, what is keeping the crisis going and importantly learn new ways of coping that will help if a similar set of circumstances arises in the future. We support men, including individuals who identify as male, aged 18+. You can refer yourself or a man you know, and we also accept referrals from GPs, mental health practitioners, and other voluntary organisations across the Northeast, Northwest and Greater London. Visit the James' Place website for more information. 

Dad Matters

Dad Matters St Helens exists to support Dads to have the best possible relationship with their children. We work closely with other professionals within St Helens and nationally to better support dads in the first 1001 days of their parenting journey.  We offer Outreach services/drop-ins at Whiston Hospital, Lowe House Resource Centre and family hubs, provide one-to-one peer support to dads, group sessions, New Dad Workshops and support dads with accessing services and information to help make sense of being a Dad. Visit the Dad Matters website for more information.

National support

Samaritans

Samaritans provide a free-to-call service which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year if you want to talk to someone in confidence. Call Samaritans on 116 123

StayAlive app

The StayAlive app is a suicide prevention resource for the UK, packed full of useful information and tools to help you stay safe in a crisis.

Google Play: http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.org.suicideprevention.stay alive

App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/stay-alive/id915458967

Calm Harm app

Calm Harm is a free app that helps you manage or resist the urge to self-harm. Visit the Calm Harm website for more information.

HOPELINEUK

HOPELINEUK is for children and young people under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide or for anyone who is concerned that a young person could be thinking about suicide. Call HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141

Text SHOUT to 85258

Shout 85258 is a free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone who is struggling to cope. They support people who are anxious, stressed, depressed, suicidal or overwhelmed and who need immediate support. Accessible to all ages - text SHOUT to 85258

Kooth

Kooth is an online counselling and emotional wellbeing platform for children and young people aged 11-25 years, accessible through mobile, tablet and desktop. The service is anonymous and free at the point of use. Visit the Kooth website for more information.

Qwell

Qwell is an online emotional wellbeing and mental health support service for adults. It is a confidential service where adults can anonymously access therapy and self-help content, with links to other appropriate services. Visit the Qwell website for more information.

Hub of Hope

The Hub of Hope is a UK mental health support database. It is provided by national mental health charity Chasing the Stigma, and brings local, national, peer, community, charity, private and NHS mental health support and services together in one place. Visit the Hub of Hope website for more information.

Every Mind Matters

Feeling stressed, anxious, low or struggling to sleep? Every Mind Matters can help with expert advice, practical tips and personalised actions to help stay on top of your mental wellbeing.

Every Mind Matters also provides a free mind plan; by answering a few questions you can get your own personalised mental health action plan with tips and advice to help you be kind to your mind.

CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)

CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) are taking a stand against suicide by provoking conversation, running life-saving services, and bringing people together so they reject living miserably, get help when they need it and don't die by suicide. Visit the CALM website for more information.

Support for veterans, service leavers and reservists

NoDuff

NoDuff provide mental health support for serving and former service personnel. Visit the NoDuff website for more information.

NHS - Op COURAGE

Op COURAGE is an NHS mental health specialist service designed to help serving personnel due to leave the military, reservists, armed forces veterans and their families.

You can contact the service in many ways, including:

• directly getting in touch yourself, or through a family member or friend - for the North of England call 0300 373 3332 or email OpCourageNORTH@cntw.nhs.uk
• asking a GP or other healthcare representative to refer you
• asking a charity to refer you

The NHS website also provides information about other mental health support for veterans, service leavers, reservists, families and carers.

Samaritans Veterans

Samaritans Veterans is a free app that can provide you with emotional support after your career in the Armed Forces. Visit the Samaritans website for more information.

At Your Side suicide bereavement guides

At Your Side suicide bereavement guides, supporting anyone bereaved by suicide in the Armed Forces community. Visit the Suicide Bereavement website for more information.

Self-harm support

Calm Harm App

Calm Harm is a free app that helps you manage or resist the urge to self-harm. Visit the Calm Harm website for more information.

NHS

The NHS website has information about where to get help for self-harm.

Self-harm safe kits

Self-harm safe kits have been developed with a number of resources including information for parents and carers, self-harm safe plans and more. You can view and download the self-harm safe kit resources below:

• About the kit
• What you need to know
• Information for parents and carers
• Self-harm safe plan 1
• Self-harm safe plan 2
• Self-harm help card
• Distraction ideas leaflet
• Support services

Children and young people safety planning resources

Follow the link to the Liverpool CAMHS safety planning resources website. On this page, you'll find a range of useful films, practical tools and resources that can help a young person understand their thoughts of suicide and keep them safe.

How I overcame self-harm

A short video published on the BBC ideas website, explores how three young people describe the coping mechanisms that helped them recover from self-harm.

Guide for agencies and practitioners

A guide has been developed for agencies and practitioners to support children and young people who have thoughts of, are about to or have self-harmed:

• Cheshire and Merseyside Children and Young People's Self-Harm Practice Guide (PDF) [1MB]

Support with mental health during the cost of living crisis

Mind Money and Mental Health

Mind provide practical tips on managing your money and improving your mental health. Visit the Mind website for more information.

Mental Health and Money Advice

A website created by Mental Health UK, to help you understand, manage and improve your mental health and money issues.

Help for Households

The government is offering help for households. See what cost of living support you could be eligible for.

Support after suicide

Those bereaved by suicide often feel isolated at a time when they are hurting, suffering mental anguish and are vulnerable themselves to thoughts of suicide. Even those fortunate enough to have strong support networks can still feel alone, unable to share their true feelings for fear of their impact on others, particularly when they are also in a caring role for others who are bereaved.

SoBS

Survivors of bereavement by suicide (Sobs) exist to meet the needs and break the isolation experienced by those bereaved by suicide. SOBs is a self-help organisation which provides a safe, confidential environment in which bereaved people can share their experiences and feelings, so giving and gaining support from each other. Call: 0300 111 5065, 9am-7pm, Monday to Friday.

AMPARO

AMPARO means 'shelter' or 'safe haven' in Spanish. AMPARO provide support for anyone affected by suicide, whether a recent or a historical death. Support can be provided one-to-one, to family groups, groups of colleagues or peers - whatever is preferred by you and is most appropriate to your situation. Call: 0330 088 9255, 9am -5pm, Monday to Friday.
 

Suicide is preventable

Suicide Prevention Strategy 2023-2027

We all want St Helens Borough to be a place where all suicides are prevented, where everyone knows how to have a conversation with someone they think is struggling, and that anyone who needs help can get the support they need. Our Suicide Prevention Strategy 2023-2027 (PDF) [16MB] and its action plan build upon the good partnership work that we have developed both in this borough and across the whole of Cheshire and Merseyside.