CHARITY NEEDS HELP AFTER SHOCKING MALE SUICIDE FIGURES REVEALED

The charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) revealed this week that 1,000 years of life are lost each year as a result of British men killing themselves. Of those 4,343 people who committed suicide in England and Wales in 2005, three quarters were men (3,228) and the highest rate has been among 15 to 44 year old men.

The Campaign Against Living Miserably is targeted at young men aged between 15-35. The campaign was launched as a pilot by the Dept of Health in Manchester on in 1997, and finally became a charity in 2006.

Working with people from the music, sport and club scenes CALM encourages young men to 'open up' and sort out their problems.

They have launched a campaign to persuade 500 firms to give £100 each towards a new, anonymous and confidential helpline and on-line web chat service. If any readers can spare the money, this is a worthwhile cause.

The charity's helpline has been suspended due to the usual crass decision-making by the Lottery Fund. If ever there was a case of an organisation in need of support this was one.

Their excellent web-site can be found here (link) and offers advice and links to other help groups.