Devon college trains students in suicide prevention

Mental health is so important to us here at South Devon College, particularly in the wake of Covid 19. We are seeing every day the impact of the last two years on our young people particularly, but this is a wider problem within our community.

We're excited to be able to deliver The Lions Academy training to our barbering, hair and beauty staff and students. This will equip them for the conversations they will inevitably have with their future clients and hopefully will provide the tools they need to identify signs of suicidal thoughts and ultimately to save lives.”

Full time Level 2 Barbering student, James Webb agrees the Academy will help him in his future career.

“It was great seeing Tom Chapman talk about the charity in person. I learnt a lot from it and will definitely make a big difference in the future for me, where I’ll hopefully have set up my own shop.

“As a barber or hairdresser you see clients regularly, get their life story, and hear about their problems. Especially men in general, they get very personal and feel like they can talk to you about a lot more.”

The partnership was launched on the eve of Time to Talk Day; the nation’s biggest mental health conversation (Thursday Feb 3rd). Set up by the mental health charity Mind it’s a day that friends, families, communities and workplaces come together to talk, listen and change lives.