{"id":7616,"date":"2021-04-16T14:00:23","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T14:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=7616"},"modified":"2021-04-19T15:47:14","modified_gmt":"2021-04-19T15:47:14","slug":"tackling-the-taboo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/04\/16\/tackling-the-taboo\/","title":{"rendered":"Tackling The Taboo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reading graduate, Neil Peters, speaks to CONNECTED about how his experiences in transport planning and the charity sector inspired him to take a leap of faith, and set up his own business \u2013 Nuthatch Consultants \u2013 to support organisations with suicide prevention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Growing up in South East London, Neil discovered a passion for geography whilst at school, and it was this, together with Reading\u2019s reputation of excellence, that encouraged him to study human geography in the School of Archaeology, Geography and Environmental Sciences<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cGeography was my favourite subject at school. I was particularly interested in the human side of it, and when I was looking at universities the content of the course was really important to me. I liked how the department at Reading was self-contained \u2013 like a little school in itself \u2013 it wasn\u2019t bolted onto bigger departments like at other universities.\u201d Neil explained.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his time at Reading, Neil said: \u201cI really integrated myself into university life and made a lot of friends, and had a great three years at Reading.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the stars align<\/h4>\n

On graduating from Reading Neil was unsure of what to do next, so he took a year out to go travelling. He explained:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cA big part of my studies focussed on the third world and developing countries, and that, alongside travelling, was what first sparked my interest in making the world a better place and helping vulnerable people.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Upon his return, he embarked on a master\u2019s degree in transport at Imperial College London, before securing a job with global engineering, management and development consultancy, Mott MacDonald<\/a>, where he stayed for the next seven years.<\/p>\n

Neil said: \u201cAlthough I really enjoyed studying geography and transport, when I started working in the field I realised it wasn\u2019t for me. Alongside my role at Mott MacDonald, I took on various volunteer roles with charities, and it was this work that inspired me to make the decision about what I really wanted to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took voluntary redundancy and applied for a short-term role at Street League, a football charity who work with youngsters and help get them back into employment. Towards the end of my time there, a role with Samaritans was advertised about helping to prevent suicide on the railway.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI had knowledge of the rail industry from my time in transport planning, and with the role being in the charity sector, it just felt like the stars had aligned for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here to listen<\/h4>\n

Neil joined Samaritans<\/a> ten years ago as a project officer, and was later appointed as their strategic programme manager, responsible for leading Samaritans and the National Rail industry\u2019s Suicide Prevention Programme.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWhen I joined Samaritans I didn\u2019t know much about suicide, but I soon discovered that when you\u2019re working in that environment, you either leave quite early on or you care so much about it that you\u2019re in it for the long-haul.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cYou can really see the impact suicide has on people\u2019s lives and there are lots of things that can be done at both a strategic and individual level to prevent it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhen I worked in transport planning some of the projects I managed had long-term benefits \u2013 like improving someone\u2019s journey \u2013 and therefore it was sometimes quite difficult to see the difference my work was having. However, when working with Samaritans volunteers, it made it clear how vital the organisation really is.<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing that someone at the organisation where you work has saved an individual from taking their own life is incredible. The volunteers give up their time every week \u2013 some before or after work and some at weekends \u2013 and although they are well-trained they aren\u2019t professionals.<\/p>\n

\n

“That just goes to show what can be achieved by individuals wanting to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A lived experience<\/h4>\n

Neil told CONNECTED that whilst he was working for Samaritans his brother-in-law tragically took his own life.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThat\u2019s one of the reasons I later got involved with the National Suicide Prevention Alliance [NSPA] \u2013 a cross-sector organisation working to reduce suicide in England, and improve support for those who have been affected by suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neil was appointed as the NSPA\u2019s freelance programme manager to help launch their Lived Experience Network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cLiving the experience as opposed to looking at it from an outside perspective was very different. Of course everyone\u2019s experiences will be different, but you share an awareness of what it\u2019s really like on a practical and emotional level.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cPeople\u2019s experiences help to paint a picture of what can happen, and getting different perspectives on what can make a difference is really important \u2013 it helps to shape how you can deliver the right support and is really valuable when you\u2019re talking to policy makers and service providers”, Neil explained.<\/p>\n

Taking a leap of faith<\/h4>\n

Whilst working at Samaritans, Neil started to see how his work could be adapted for different industries.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cIt was quite a challenge for industries and individual organisations to fund suicide prevention initiatives, but we often tried to set up partnerships to fund these. However, we could never quite get them off the ground and I started to see that there was an opportunity to offer smaller organisations my expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just before the first national lockdown, Neil decided to leave Samaritans and set up his own freelance business, Nuthatch Consultants<\/a>, whose aim is to support charities and businesses with suicide prevention, mental health and well-being advice.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cTo be honest it was a bit of a leap of faith. I didn\u2019t know if this freelance business was going to be a sustainable career, however I\u2019ve been really lucky to pick up work straight away.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the work I\u2019ve been doing has been looking at suicide prevention strategies and plans for organisations that operate in public places \u2013 like landowning businesses or infrastructure managers such as Highways England.<\/p>\n

\n

“They want to protect people in their local communities and save lives. I\u2019ve also been able to support charities with suicide prevention projects.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Turning his thoughts to COVID-19, Neil recognised that the risk factors for suicide have significantly increased:<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are talking about the extraordinary times we are living in at the moment, and the impact this is having on mental health. It\u2019s at the forefront of people\u2019s minds, and lots of organisations are starting to think about how they can look after their staff\u2019s well-being to help those who are struggling.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cPeople \u2013 especially young people \u2013 have been sharing a lot of experiences of isolation, loneliness and the stress and anxiety of being trapped indoors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Delivering outreach and training services has also been difficult for the sector during the pandemic. Neil said: \u201cOrganisations had to adapt almost overnight to deliver their services in an online environment, and when talking about an emotive topic \u2013 like suicide \u2013 there\u2019s nothing quite like being in the room with someone. It\u2019s those casual conversations at lunchtime and before training that you don\u2019t get online.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the greater good<\/h4>\n

Reflecting on how helping people through his line of work makes him feel, Neil said: \u201cI have the same stresses and challenges that anyone working in a project role has, however when you know you\u2019re doing something that\u2019s going to have a positive impact, for the greater good, it makes everything worthwhile.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHearing from people who have really struggled with their lives but sought help and got better, makes you realise that suicide can be prevented and there is hope. It\u2019s about getting that word out there and tackling those taboos.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Discover more about Nuthatch Consultants<\/a> and the work they do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading graduate, Neil Peters, speaks to CONNECTED about how his experiences in transport planning and the charity sector inspired him to take a leap of faith, and set up his own business \u2013 Nuthatch Consultants \u2013 to support organisations with suicide prevention.\u00a0 Growing up in South East London, Neil discovered a passion for geography whilst […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":7621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[54,123,85,105,34,37,47,87],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTackling The Taboo - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reading graduate, Neil Peters, speaks to CONNECTED about his own experiences and his work supporting organisations with suicide prevention.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2021\/04\/16\/tackling-the-taboo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tackling The Taboo - 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