The University of Exeter Medical School are now seeking to gain a better understanding of the part members of the public can play in preventing suicides in public places and the resources they need in order to do so. We want to increase the number of people who are able to recognise and reach out to someone in a public place who may be contemplating suicide, and will be developing a set of evidence-based public educational materials. Jonny Benjamin and Neil Laybourn are both working with us on this project, as are several members of TASC and other relevant agencies.
What is the aim of the study?
The Stranger on the Bridge was the title of an award-winning documentary, broadcast on Channel 4 in 2015. It told the story of Jonny Benjamin, who was intending to take his own life in a public place and was prevented from doing so by a passer-by.
To achieve our objectives we need to find people who have been involved in a ‘Stranger on the Bridge’ situation – both those who have contemplated taking their own lives in a public place (any public place, not necessarily a bridge) and those who have tried to stop them – and learn as much as we can from them. We have already had a great response from staff at Network Rail, many of whom have experience of intervening, and are now looking more widely for participants.
We have attached an advert for the study:
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