British suicide prevention charity
Papyrus Prevention of Young Suicide, also known as Papyrus UK, is a British charity which aims to reduce the number of suicides among young people. It was founded in 1997 by a group of parents whose children had taken their own lives. It was founded as Parents' Association for the Prevention of Young Suicide, from which the name "Papyrus" is derived.
In 2017, as part of a campaign "Save the class of 2018", Papyrus produced a guide for schools and colleges on suicide prevention. In 2022, Universities UK worked with Papyrus to produce guidelines on suicided prevention for universities.
To mark World Suicide Prevention Day in 2021, the animation studio Blue Zoo created an animation, "Sinking Feeling", for Papyrus "about a young person’s desperate struggle with life", in place of their usual annual creation of a comedy short.
The then Home Secretary Sajid Javid gave a speech in June 2022 at Papyrus's headquarters, after chairing a round-table discussion, in which he spoke of his brother's suicide and said he had "heard heart-breaking tales of love and loss but also inspirational stories of the work being done to divert people from this painful path, including, of course, the work of Papyrus here". As of June 2024[ [update]] they have raised over £1.4 million for Papyrus.
3 Dads Walking.
Three men whose daughters had killed themselves joined together as 3 Dads Walking to raise funds for Papyrus and awareness of youth suicide. They have carried out long-distance walks to raise funds, and published a book "Three Dads Walking: 300 Miles of Hope" (2024, Robinson: ). The three, Andy Airey (father of Sophie), Tim Owen (father of Emily) and Mike Palmer (father of Beth), were appointed MBE in the 2024 Birthday Honours, each described as "Fundraiser, 3 Dads Walking for Papyrus UK" and recognised "For services to the Prevention of Young Suicide." Their initial walk was a route from Cumbria via Greater Manchester to Norfolk, linking their three homes. In 2022 they walked over between the four parliaments of the United Kingdom, from Belfast to London via Edinburgh and Cardiff, urging the governments to include suicide prevention in the school curriculum. In 2024 their "Walk of Hope" of , from Stirling to Norwich, visited the east coast for the first time and included several of Papyrus's newly-opened offices which their fund-raising had helped to support.
An early day motion passed by the House of Commons in 2022 expressed support for their "brave, tireless and selfless campaigning", noted that suicide is the major cause of death among under-35s in the United Kingdom, and called on the government to imbed suicide awareness in the school curriculum and increase mental health traininig for education staff.
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