Grassroots Training Blog

A brain-teasing season's greeting

15 December 2011 3:06

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A new phase begins

11 December 2011 23:53

The Board of Directors of Grassroots Training recently cast unanimous votes to move forward with converting Grassroots from a social enterprise to a charity.


This is a decision that has not been taken lightly, nor easily.  Our social enterprise status has served us well for nearly six years (our birthday is in January!) and to leave it behind feels risky.  As a CIC (Community Interest Company) we have been a very agile company, able to respond quickly to market changes or local/national agendas.  When we become a charity our decision process will become slower, with certain decisions needing to go to the board of trustees at set meetings, rather than a weekly or monthly discussion with 2 or more directors.


For the four of us who began Grassroots, becoming a charity means completely letting go of the governance of the company and letting the trustees take it over.  I have had a profound realisation of why we call them 'trustees' - letting go is difficult when we have been involved in every step of the way with getting Grassroots off the ground and growing it into the an organisation we are very proud of.  Not for the first time we've been struck by the analogy of parenting - our 'baby' has become a young adult and is becoming independent from us.


Having said the above, I am happy, proud and excited to be ushering Grassroots into a new phase!  We will be able to become more public-facing and increase our ability to campaign around suicide prevention.  New funding streams will become available to us.  We can begin to plan for the future, hoping that Grassroots will outlive us all and continue the work we've begun.  Onwards and upwards :)


So, all we need to do before we complete our articles of association is come up with a name.  Suggestions on an (electronic) postcard please...

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Suicide prevention in Brighton goes viral

25 August 2011 6:49

A  viral suicide prevention campaign is kicking off in Brighton to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10th.
We will launch our video ‘I Am Alive’ (http://bit.ly/IAmAlive) at the Rock Inn in Kemptown, Brighton.  
MP Caroline Lucas will make a special online appearance together with suicide prevention colleagues in Canada and USA.  Other guests lined up for this special event include:
Kate Bornstein – author of ‘Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws’ Friends of Emmet – an Irish band living in LA Susan Aglukark – internationally acclaimed Inuk folk musician and chair of the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation A brand new interpretation of Gloomy Sunday, the ‘suicide song’ by Angi  Mariani from Brighton’s Latest magazine Tom Scanlon, chair of Brighton & Hove's Suicide Prevention Strategy Working Party
Please join us!  If you can't be there in person, don't worry: the event will be screened live and made available worldwide via social networking site Twitter at #WSPD.
We believe that when people come together in support of suicide prevention hope can be strengthened and changes made to happen.                                              Around one in 20 of us will contemplate suicide at some point this year.  But we can do something about it and that’s what the video shows - it promotes a positive message that if people reach out to others then lives can be saved.  Not talking about suicide simply isn’t working.
Suicide prevention isn’t only the preserve of doctors and social workers – anyone can help.
The ‘I Am Alive’ video contains inspirational personal accounts of how people’s reasons for living, however ‘small’, helped them to choose life instead of suicide.   We are asking people to support the ‘I Am Alive’ campaign by forwarding the video to at least 20 people.  We’d also like supporters to talk about suicide with anyone they’re concerned about, and to donate to the website to pay for training.
Brighton has the second highest suicide rate in England. The highest is Blackpool.  Risk factors for suicide include mental illness, substance misuse, unemployment, poor social support networks.
Find out more about World Suicide Prevention Day: http://www.iasp.info/wspd/

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