Suicide awareness sessions provide listening ear

Special orange badges worn by those who have completed suicide awareness training are designed to alert struggling people in Staffordshire that the wearer is "someone who can provide a listening ear". 

The badge scheme was brought in under a plan to create a network of people trained to recognise when someone may be facing a mental health challenge, the county council said.

Those who undertook awareness sessions - offered for free in Staffordshire - may show, via the badge, that they offer "supportive conversations" and can help connect people with services that can offer further assistance.

About nine lives are lost to suicide every month in Staffordshire, the council said.

The highest suicide rates are seen among men aged between 40 and 59, according to the local authority.