Learn about our Lived & Living Experience Panel
Find out why it is so important that people with experience of suicide are part of everything we do.
Introduction
The voices of people with experience of suicide guide everything we do.
All our work is co-produced, developed and delivered by adults and young people from diverse communities across Scotland who have a personal understanding of suicide.
This makes what we do more effective, because it is grounded in the reality of people’s lives.
What is the Lived & Living Experience Panel?
The Lived & Living Experience Panel was established in 2019 to ensure our suicide prevention work is guided by people who have been personally affected by suicide or bereavement by suicide.
Panel members’ experiences can be in the past or the present, which is sometimes referred to as ‘lived’ or ‘living’, hence the panel’s name.
The panel plays a central role in co-producing Suicide Prevention Scotland’s programme of work.
And our approach to co-production has gained international recognition, having been commended by the World Health Organisation.
"I feel like I’ve done something to honour my dad’s memory. I wouldn’t have been here (on the panel) if it wasn’t for his suicide, so perhaps I’ve potentially made a positive impact on some future person who might be directed down a more hopeful path."
Jonathan Ellenor
Lived and Living Experience Panel
How does it work and can I get involved?
The Lived and Living Experience Panel is managed by SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) on behalf of the Scottish Government and COSLA.
Co-ordinators employed by SAMH are in place to manage the panel’s programme of work and to provide proactive safeguarding support.
Recruitment to the panel takes place periodically, with members usually sitting as part of the group for about two years. Opportunities to join are advertised on this website and across Suicide Prevention Scotland channels.
The wider group meets regularly in person and online, with smaller break-out groups supporting key programmes of activity.
What have our panel been involved in?
Members of our Lived & Living Experience Panel have been involved in lots of different projects. These include:
Providing insight to the development of guidance on suicide prevention action plans in high risk setting
Sharing their experiences to improve the quality of care in clinical settings
A project supporting small communities to increase their own awareness of suicide prevention through community-led action research
Developing a new public awareness campaigns framework, and creating Scotland’s new public awareness campaign
Our Lived and Living Experience Panel is an extraordinary group of people. They’re making a profound difference to the way we work together to prevent suicide.