PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide is the UK charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people.

PAPYRUS was founded in 1997 by a group of bereaved parents, who had lost children to suicide. Our founding parents shared core beliefs that suicide is preventable, and that those of us with lived experience of suicide have a valuable and unique contribution to make to the wider conversation around suicide.

Since then, PAPYRUS has grown into a UK-wide charity with offices in north west England, south west England, West Midlands, London, Northern Ireland, north Wales, south Wales, and Scotland.

Today, we are a leading youth suicide prevention charity in the UK. Our suicide prevention helpline, HOPELINE247, is staffed by trained suicide prevention advisers, who work with young people – and anybody concerned for a young person – to help keep them safe from suicide. HOPELINE247 is a free and confidential call, text, email and webchat service, which is available from 9am to midnight, every day of the year.

We deliver our suicide prevention education and training packages to thousands of people each year, to create suicide-safer communities across the UK.

We also press for change to current legislation around suicide prevention on a regional and national level.

PAPYRUS exists to reduce the number of young people who take their own lives, by shattering the stigma surrounding suicide and equipping young people and their communities with the skills to recognise and respond to emotional distress. We believe that no young person should have to struggle alone with thoughts of suicide.

PAPYRUS envisions a society which speaks openly about suicide and has the resources to help young people who have suicidal thoughts.

PREVENTION: Many young suicides are preventable.

PASSION: Those who are touched personally by a young suicide have a unique contribution to make to our work.

HOPE: No young person should have to suffer alone with thoughts or feelings of hopelessness, and nobody should have to go through the heartbreak of losing a young person to suicide.

LEARNING: Everyone can play a role in preventing young suicide.