“This has been my dream, and today the dream is coming true,” says Kasia Halani, Jak’s World Suicide Prevention Charity co-founder and the mastermind behind Salford’s inaugural suicide conference.
More than two years after her son Jakub Halani tragically passed away from suicide, she brought charities, councillors, old friends and new faces together under the Salford Lads Club roof to celebrate the progress Jak’s World has made, while fostering greater support and understanding around suicide prevention.
“Our charity was born from the pain of losing our son Jakub, it was such a shock to everyone who knew him, school, family, friends and his loved ones. Young people started to come to me, sharing their struggles, and I knew something had to be done,” she explained.
“When we experience traumatic loss, such as suicide, it touches people, and everyone is shaken. But it brings everyone together, and when someone reaches out from our so-called family, we are immediately there for them.
“I want to do all I can to prevent families from going through what we had to. We have got speakers in to share information because we have to come together. We need to support the NHS system, but we can’t do it alone.”
Jim Burscough, a Jak’s World volunteer, worked hard to make sure the event ran smoothly by directing people around the venue and fielding questions.
“I am just so happy with the turnout, especially on a working day when schools have returned,” he said. “60 people have registered, and quite a few local people have walked in as well.
For Burscough, the strong turnout signified that the “taboo” around suicide continues to be eroded by the work the charities in attendance carry out.
Shining a light on how outdated approaches and perceptions surrounding suicide affected his mental health, and opening up on the sense of community and belonging Jak’s World has given him, Burscough said:
“I think people are aware that it’s a difficulty, especially for some men of my generation. I am in my 60s and we were expected to man up, be tough and deal with the things that came our way.”
More than 7,000 people took their own lives last year, and three-quarters of those were men. Suicide is the leading cause of death among men aged 35 to 49, and for men and women aged 20 to 34.
“I found that when difficulties came into my life, I knew how I was meant to behave, but I wasn’t really prepared for things going wrong and how to reach out to people,” Burscough explained.
“I’m a neighbour of Kasia, so it has been easy for me to meet up. I have benefitted from the emotional support Jak’s World provides and have been able to get involved and help other people, too.”
The charity puts on a range of weekly sessions which give people a safe space to talk about their feelings while enjoying different activities. Chinese martial art, Tai Chi, is Burscough’s favourite and is extremely popular, but art therapy, meditation and music are more familiar workshops that take place regularly.
“It’s a great feeling when you get involved with the sessions and can help people. It’s a very positive thing and gives off all those happy hormones.”
Jane Wood could not help but smile because the room was full of her “most caring friends and neighbours.”
Wood, who hosts a show on Salford City Radio with her partner Mike, explained that the event has pulled old friends together, with many people who had long moved out of Ordsall returning to attend the Suicide Conference.
“We have been doing things with Jak’s World for a year now. Kasia is brilliant. I remember that she put on a women’s group, and it was wonderful.”
The room on the top floor of Salford Lads Club was decorated with art from the crafts sessions Jak’s World organised. Wood is a regular attendee when the workshops run out of Ordsall Library.
“Crafting is a good chance to chat. It is a very therapeutic place to be, and people find it easy to talk about things on their mind.
“Doing things and food help to bring people together and talk,” she says; the suicide prevention conference has plenty of both those things, with visitors diving into a big buffet spread midway through the day.
There was no hesitation from Christiano Ferreria when asked what his favourite event as a Jak’s World volunteer had been: “Parklife. That is the best event I’ve done with the charity.
“I ended up going to the festival for two days, and we gave out free hugs for mental health. It made me feel happy as so many people opened up to us – opening up to someone is the most important thing you can do (to help your mental health), he highlighted.
Ferreria was a friend of Jakub and had been in the year below him at school. “It was heartbreaking news to hear he passed away from suicide,” he reflected. “So, through that, we have done things in his name.
“The charity was created shortly after he passed away to spread the message of suicide prevention. Then this year, me and three other guys ended up doing the Three Peaks Challenge in honour of the charity. We completed it in 23 hours, 40 minutes and 23 seconds, which is insane.”
Ferreria, who hailed the event a resounding success, explained it had been a “collaborative effort, with a lot of suicide charities coming together, getting the word out and trying to help people feel better.”
One of the locals that made their way to the event without any previous affiliation to the charities in attendance was Gina Gina, who, despite apologising for being a second-language speaker, conveyed her enthusiasm for the Suicide Prevention Conference.
“I am really impressed with the event because I didn’t know it would be so interesting. I know that there are a lot of people having suicidal thoughts, and I have too, so it’s important to know that people care.
“The way that the people here have presented the issue makes you feel that you can avoid it, you feel heard, and seen – it works like magic.
“I will go online and have a look at each of the different groups in attendance today, I will make sure to talk to my children about them as well.”
One of the groups that Gina had the chance to see was Reach Out; Start to End Suicide. Dennis Baldwin, the charity’s project manager, described how its work is multifaceted, with various initiatives aimed at “offering community support and empowerment to start conversations around suicide.
Baldwin, a smiley, enthusiastic character with a perceptible Aussie twang, is a multiple suicide attempt survivor. Through the charity, he runs a peer support group for fellow attempt survivors, which he says brings together a “fantastic group, with a really dark sense of humour.
“When someone can have a laugh and a joke about their illness, they’re on their way to reclaiming it,” he explained.
Baldwin leads several suicide awareness campaigns through his charity, including the Every Day Mental Health Heroes scheme, which offers community support and an online training programme via the Shining Alliance on Suicide website to help people start difficult conversations.
Each World Suicide Prevention Day, he organises a remembrance procession and vigil featuring 177 flags – one for every life lost to suicide in Salford over the past five years.
When asked what he would like people to take away from the Suicide Prevention Conference, he said, “It’s about the smallest things. Making sure you go home to your friends, family and loved ones and ask how they are feeling and then follow up and begin those important conversations.”
Jakub Halani was a renowned music producer whose talent earned him a global following and high-profile collaborations with major labels, including Sony and Universal.
Sibusiso Tsambini’s attendance at the Sucide Prevention Conference is a reminder of the positive impact Halani made. The 23-year-old, who performs under the stage name ‘Kxng Drizz’ explained that he “discovered Jakub through his amazing beats, which never disappoint.
“It is amazing to see these people turn up here as well to remember their loved ones and it is beautiful that people can gather, share a moment together, and be supportive of each other,” he said, ahead of his performance at the event.
“When I get on stage, I make sure to tell the people sitting down to look at their neighbour and tell them they are loved, they matter.
“This is a very important gathering suicide prevention is no joke, so that is why it is important to be here.”
One of the goals of Jak’s World is to raise funds for a studio to honour the musical legacy of Jakub Halani.
Kasia highlighted: “We don’t have a base at the moment, and we would very much like to make our son’s dream of owning his own private studio come true.
Donations, which can be made through the Jak’s World website, are also used for creating “boxes of hope for people who have lost someone due to suicide, or to support someone that is struggling.
“It’s very difficult when you are in that place to reach out, she says, we try to inspire people who are struggling to turn their life around.”
The itinerary from the Salford Suicide Conference, including the details of all the speakers and charities in attendance, can be viewed here.
Recent Comments