Gypsy, Roma & Traveller: Self Harm & Suicide Prevention(Open Access Course)

About This Event

Live online training via MS Teams

The Academy at Harmless is pleased to offer life-saving training to delegates from all sectors and backgrounds through its Open Access Courses.

Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities experience some of the worst health outcomes in the UK, including life expectancy up to 12 years shorter than the general population. High rates of discrimination, poor access to services and social exclusion contribute to increased mental health challenges and heightened suicide risk.

Endorsed by Friends, Families & Travellers, this course is designed in direct response to these health inequalities and aligns with national priorities set out in the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England (2023–2028). It supports professionals and services in delivering equitable, effective and culturally appropriate care.

Learning outcomes:

• Improve awareness of self harm and suicide in the Gypsy, Roma & Traveller Community
• Understand the unique risk factors that impact this community
• Reduce stigma and discrimination associated with self harm and suicide in the Gypsy, Roma & Traveller Community
• Develop skills to create an inclusive environment and support someone affected by self harm and/or suicide
• Improve confidence and competence to understand and manage self harm and suicide
• Increasing engagement from the community with support services
• Consider the unique challenges in accessing appropriate services locally and nationally

Our online training is delivered via MS Teams. Once registered, you will receive an email with login details for the session. During sessions, we provide all delegates with frequent breaks to ensure that screen fatigue is kept to a minimum.

Who Should Attend
This course is especially relevant for those working directly with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, as well as professionals involved in mental health, public health or suicide prevention. It is also relevant to organisations seeking to address health inequalities for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. If your service is not seeing fair representation from these groups, this course will help you understand and address the barriers to engagement, supporting you to build more inclusive, culturally responsive services.

Target audiences may include:

• Commissioners & Decision-Makers: ICB Leads, local authority public health teams, social care directors, and health & wellbeing board members
• Service Managers & Team Leaders: Managers within NHS Trusts, PCNs, local authority teams, housing and third sector services, and Traveller education teams
• Frontline Practitioners: GPs, nurses, social workers, youth workers, housing officers, educators, helpline staff, and community support staff
• Policy & System Influencers: National Health bodies, researchers, professional and membership organisations, and Third Sector umbrella networks

If you commission, manage, or deliver services that may engage with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, this training will offer practical, evidence-based tools and cultural insight to help you provide safer, more inclusive care.

About Harmless
Harmless is the centre of excellence for self harm and suicide prevention. Each year, we support thousands of people who self harm, are in suicide crisis or have been bereaved by suicide. We’re also committed to sharing our expertise so everyone feels confident talking about mental health and supporting those in distress. That’s why we created The Academy at Harmless – to equip people to respond with confidence and compassion when it matters most. All our inclusive, interactive training is CPD-accredited, aligned with national guidelines and delivered by expert Training & Education Officers.

Self-Care
The topics covered in this training can be emotionally challenging. Delegates are encouraged to be mindful of the personal impact that this training may have and to seek reassurance, support or guidance from the Trainer if they feel distressed or affected. We also encourage delegates to practise self-care throughout the course – taking breaks as needed and managing personal disclosure. All Trainers have direct access to a clinical team for additional support if required.