Our ambition

West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership’s Suicide Prevention Programme has delivered a two-year contract with Leeds GATE to tackle the high suicide risk the Gypsy and Traveller communities across West Yorkshire. 

Gypsy and Traveller communities are known to face some of the most severe health inequalities and poorest life outcomes among UK populations. The life expectancy of those in the communities in 50 years, compared to the wider population where it is 79 years.

A report by third sector organisation Leeds Gypsy and Traveller Exchange (Leeds GATE), published in 2020, reported an average of six suicides per year affecting the Gypsy and Traveller population of approx. 7,000 people across West Yorkshire. It also cited a study which found Traveller suicide rate was six times higher than the general population. Gyspies and Travellers have also been found to experience multiple bereavements by suicide – two to five family members on average.

What we did

The project aimed to reach as many as possible across Bradford District and Craven, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield District through one-to-one support, work to reduce stigma and developing suicide awareness training within the communities.

Outreach work took place in venues such as gyms, churches and other community-based organisations as well as providing support to people living in houses, sites and roadside encampments.

As well as reaching hundreds through the outreach work, the project also saw a total of 33 people who were deemed to be at significant risk of suicide, offered one-to-one support to tackle their individual needs. Many of these people reported multiple risk factors for suicide such as poor health (84%), financial difficulties (78%), feeling isolated (64%) and being in an unstable relationship (30%).

Key to the project’s success was Leeds GATE mental health worker Bernard Cunningham, (pictured, below right) who is from Romany Gypsy background and passionate about mental health in his community, having  experienced his own mental health struggles in the past.

He said: "It is scary that our community’s high suicide rate is so hidden. Gypsies and Travellers don’t show up in the data, so having these statistics and showing these risk factors makes this issue much more visible. 

“The situation is further compounded by stigma within the community and people not feeling able to talk about their mental health. People are experiencing multiple risk factors and are shouldering these themselves or within their family unit. 

“That’s why this project is so badly needed. It’s shown what can be done and that people do want to engage when it’s done right and designed around them."

What’s next?

The project’s success has now seen further funding secured for at least another year, with those involved hailing the results so far and the potential for what could be achieved in the future.

Government advisor on suicide prevention, Prof Sir Louis Appleby, who is chair of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, welcomed the innovative work of the project.

He said: “Gypsy and Traveller communities have been neglected in suicide prevention previously.

“There may be gaps in the evidence but any group facing economic adversity and public prejudice is likely to be at risk. The imminent national suicide prevention strategy is expected to highlight the issue. 

“So the pioneering initiative in West Yorkshire matters to the people who will benefit directly but it is also an encouragement to other parts of the country, welcome and overdue."

Thomas Gaffney, services manager at Leeds GATE, also said:

"We believe national and regional authorities should be doing more to address the tragedy of suicide in these communities.

“Since our work in this area began, we’ve now built a service with two suicide prevention workers with mental health expertise.  

“We work to respond to our members’ needs now, and build connections and change systems for the future, so no-one has to struggle alone.

“Though the projects successes so far need to be celebrated, Leeds GATE are looking ahead to the future of what is to come. This is a growing project and still feels in many ways in its infancy of what could be achieved."

Read the full press release.

The project was also highlighted as a case study in a Local Government Association article on the future of suicide prevention funding.