Grants boost for inspirational projects on global Suicide Prevention Day

Maidstone-based Therapy Partners will use their slice of the 2025 Kent and Medway Better Health and Wellbeing Community Fund to run the six-month pilot.

Called Hard Hat Minds, it will offer employees, initially on one site, 1-2-1 mentoring, group sessions and tailored advice about NHS Talking Therapies, addiction support and other services.

A record 143 good causes applied to the latest round of Community Fund funding.

Run by the Kent and Medway Suicide Prevention Programme, the Community Fund has supported over 100 projects over the past eight years dedicated to helping local residents get back to better mental health.

The announcement on World Suicide Prevention Day comes as Kent and Medway gear up to host the national suicide prevention charity’s Baton of Hope's Tour.

Alan Heyes, Chief Executive of Therapy Partners, said: “We’re really excited to receive this funding.

“Suicide rates are four times the national average in construction. Employees, mostly men, need help to overcome mental health stigmas and the social isolation that comes from working shifts, sometimes a long way from home.

“Hard Hat Minds is designed to meet workers on site, on their terms. Our goal is to build trust and create a model of support that could be rolled out across the sector.”

The successful 2025 Community Fund applicants also include:

• Autism Apprentice – to hold a monthly support group for autistic adults, covering independent living, employment, education and more.
• Keep Talking Services – to run a phone befriending service for people in frequent contact with mental health services.
• The Dots – working in partnership with Amparo and Rising Sun, this survivor participation group will develop a lived experience, co-design project for survivors of domestic abuse where the perpetrator has died by suicide.
• Icon Theatre – a 20-week drama and mental health programme will be designed to support and celebrate 20 LGBTQ+ young people aged 13 to 18 in Medway. Project Rainbow will also help participants deal with issues such as discrimination and loneliness.
• West Kent Mind – to create an early interventions service for children and young people that offers1-2-1 sessions with a trained mental health practitioner to reduce the need for referrals into NHS care.
• New Leaf – Family Court proceedings can be traumatic and re-triggering for suicide survivors. By empowering survivors in Swale with knowledge and support, the 'Support Empowerment Through Court' project aims to reduce the mental health impact of court hearings, lowering the risk of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation.
• Windmill Training – this project looks to help individuals who experience suicidal thoughts and behaviours to expand their perspective of their place in the world. It also aims to manage distress through psychoeducation, a form of therapy that focuses on providing information and support to help patients and their loved ones better understand and cope with mental health illness.

Dr Kate Langford, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Kent and Medway, said: “It’s heartening to see the range of organisations that the community fund is able to support in their important work to help people look after their mental health.

“We know that taking support directly into the workplace and the community helps people become more resilient in the face of life’s challenges that can affect their mental health.

“On World Suicide Prevention Day, I would like to reinforce the message that there is always hope and help is out there and I am pleased that the Baton of Hope will also be bringing that important message to Kent and Medway later this month.”

Diane Morton, KCC Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, a registered mental health nurse and trained counsellor, said: “The rates of suicide for middle-age men, particularly those working in typically masculine sectors like construction, are truly devastating and unacceptable. But every suicide is a tragedy that has deep, far and wide impacts.

"Having experienced losing a loved one to suicide, I am passionate about making suicide everybody's business - knowing where to find help and how to talk through difficult emotions.

"By taking support directly into the workplace, projects like Hard Hat Minds can save lives. I look forward to seeing the positive impact it, and the other excellent schemes awarded this year's Community Fund grants, have in our communities.”

Cllr Teresa Murray, Deputy Leader of Medway Council and Portfolio Holder for Public Health, said: “It’s so important that mental health support is easily accessible, and bringing it into the workplace is a great way to reach as many people as possible who may be in need.

“I’m sure this project will also go a long way to reducing any stigma that still remains around accessing such support, which is something we must all work to reduce.

“It’s not always easy to reach out if you’re suffering, so providing support sessions and advice in this way is such a positive step which I am sure will make a huge difference to people’s mental health and overall wellbeing.”