The Prince of Wales meets National Suicide Prevention Network partners during Mental Health Awareness Week

To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, The Prince of Wales has officially opened James’ Place Birmingham, seeing firsthand the support the charity’s newest centre provides to men in suicidal crisis. James’ Place is one of the founding partners of the National Suicide Prevention Network (NSPN), established by The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales last Autumn, to drive lasting change to how suicide is understood and prevented across the UK.

Suicide is the single leading cause of death for men over 35, who are three times more likely than women to die by suicide. James’ Place offers rapid, professional therapy that addresses the root cause of suicidal crisis. The Royal Foundation is supporting the charity to pilot two new satellite services in the North East and North West over the next 12 months. During the visit, His Royal Highness toured the new centre in Birmingham and met staff, local partners and service users who have been supported by James’ Place at its other locations.

The visit also brought together fellow NSPN partners, including PAPYRUS, MindOUT and the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA) to meet with The Prince. Alongside James’ Place, the partners shared insights into new collaboration across the Network, observations and learnings from the first six months and ways the Network can continue to strengthen suicide prevention efforts nationwide.

The Prince has a longstanding relationship with James’ Place, having previously opened the charity’s centres in Liverpool, London and Newcastle.