Tear-jerking letters put grief into words for mental health campaign

Suicide&Co enlisted brand communication consultancy Harbour for ’Words Unspoken’, shining a light on the grief process and urging readers not to ’let silence have the last word.’

The nationwide campaign benefits from Clear Channel’s Platform for Good locations and is supported on social and online.

Amelia Wrighton, chief executive officer and co-founder at Suicide&Co, said: “This campaign acts as a collective voice for those bereaved by suicide. With over 70 letter submissions already they are a brilliant representation of the complexities of suicide-related grief. We hope that showcasing these letters in the open will help those who may feel silenced by the stigma surrounding their grief.

“The campaign is also a form of support in itself, as letter writing is a therapeutic action, enabling people to unlock and acknowledge their feelings.”

Grant Parker, creative partner at Harbour, added: “So often, the voices of those bereaved by suicide go unheard. We wanted this campaign to show the many nuanced forms of grief these people experience. It’s shocking that so many of us are affected by suicide, and yet it is not something that is talked about openly.

”By boldly showing these letters on large format posters, we hope it will chip away at the stigma those bereaved by suicide often feel and help the millions of people who are affected by this every year know that they are not alone.”

The campaign was inspired by the estimate that one in five people will be affected by suicide at some point in their lives.

Past awareness raising campaigns have reproduced the last messages sent by men to their loved ones to draw attention to a mental health crisis.