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Male suicide awareness charity CALM launches #dontbeastatistic campaign with SBTV and Rapman

By | Published on Thursday 19 November 2015

CALM

Hey everyone, today is International Men’s Day. Yes, like every day. But this official day of men sees the launch of an important media campaign highlighting the issue of suicide among young men from the charity Campaign Against Living Miserably.

Suicide remains the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK, and three times more men than women take their own lives. CALM’s latest campaign, ‘Don’t Be A Statistic’, launched with SBTV and Unilad, urges men to talk about their feelings and to encourage a wider conversation about male suicide.

The campaign launched with a music video and new track by Rapman on the SBTV YouTube channel, called ‘Rollercoaster’.

CALM CEO Jane Powell said in a statement: “In 2014, 76% of suicides were male, and suicide currently stands as the single biggest killer of men aged under 45 in this country. That’s why it’s so important that artists such as Rapman and media platforms like SBTV and Unilad raise awareness for this endemic issue and spread the message that you don’t have to be a statistic; reach out to friends, family and our support network if you are feeling suicidal”.

Explaining his own involvement in the initiative, Rapman said: “I began to remember a friend of mine who started getting really depressed over a snowball of events including himself losing his job and his girlfriend. I knew he was down but just thought it was a phase until one night he called me contemplating suicide”.

“I thought he was joking but soon sensed his tone and realised it was serious”, he continued. “He told me he had been taking antidepressant medication for a while and had nothing worth living for. I sat on the phone to him for hours telling him things will be OK and he will eventually find a new partner and job. I went over there and after a lot of heart to hearts managed to talk him off the ledge”.

He finished: “Months down the line he took me out to tell me thank you, that he’s got a new job and girlfriend and if it wasn’t for my words, he really would of killed himself. So I figured, how many other people are in this situation? I could tell this story with a twist and help someone else”.

Of the video, SBTV’s Jamal Edwards explained: “Rapman told me about his friend and we had a chat and came up with this video. Male suicide is a very important issue that desperately needs more attention and I’m glad SBTV can help and encourage men to reach out to their friends, family or support charities if they are feeling depressed or suicidal”.

For more information, visit the website www.biggerissues.co.uk and follow the #dontbeastatistic hashtag on social media.

Watch the ‘Rollercoster’ video here:



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