SSHaRe NoW

Suicide and Self-Harm Research North West (SSHaRe NoW) is a collaboration between The University of Central Lancashire, Liverpool John Moores University, The University of Manchester, the Manchester Self-Harm Project, the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust and the NIHR Applied Research Collaborations (ARCs).

Our mission statement

Suicide and Self-Harm Research North West, or SSHaRe NoW, was launched in June 2017 with the aim of bringing together a wide range of stakeholders with a shared interested in suicide and self-harm research, from across the north-west of England.

We hope to encourage and support links and collaboration between researchers, clinicians, health services, third sector organisations, service users, and the public, by raising awareness of high quality suicide and self-harm research and initiatives in the local area.

We also want to create a positive collaborative space where we can share knowledge, expertise, and experience of all kinds, to help identify and develop key areas of research that may help improve services and reduce suicide and self-harm in the future.

Our aims for the next five years are to develop a shared set of priorities concerning research around suicide and self-harm in the north-west, and particularly to:

• provide an environment for researchers to share knowledge on the work they are involved in;
• create an opportunity for building on previous study findings;
• have the space to hold meetings to discuss ideas for future research;
• coproduce funding/grant applications;
• promote the benefits of how public and patients may be involved in research;
• enable the promotion of interactive materials developed for local initiatives to a wider audience.

Self-harm and suicide: what we know and what we need to know

The fifth annual Suicide and Self-Harm Research North West (SSHaRE NoW) conference brings together clinicians, individuals with lived experience, academics, and researchers in the field.

The conference aims to raise awareness and understanding of self-harm and suicide by presenting some of our latest research in the field, providing opportunity to hear from individuals with lived experience of self-harm and suicide, and inviting discussion of key topics via our panel.

Lunch and Refreshments will be provided

For more information contact Dr Kathryn Gardner

Date and Time:     8th June 2022 from  09.30 to 15.00 BST
Venue: Darwin Building, Darwin Lecture Theatre, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2HE
Organiser:  Kathryn Gardner
Entry Fee: Free

Winner of the Zero Suicide Alliance Essay Competition 2021

The Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) is a members-led charity campaign hosted by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust dedicated to preventing suicide.

They work in collaboration with NHS trusts, non-profit organisations, local authorities, businesses and individuals to raise awareness of suicide and its contributing factors.

In 2021 they held their first Essay Competition.

We were extremely impressed with the entries we received for this competition, from a diverse range of people. Competition entries were judged by a panel of members from the Suicide and Self-Harm Research North-West (SSHaRe NoW) network and the Zero Suicide Alliance.

Several essays were strong contenders, but the winning essay by Chloe Morris was unanimously selected by judges as the essay that best captured trends in self-harm and suicide during the pandemic, whilst showing a good understanding of the issues and constructing balanced arguments to articulate potential explanations for these trends.

See the winning entry here.