Hereford Pubs Get 20,000 Suicide Prevention Beer Mats

Beer mats carrying mental health helplines have been handed out to more than 40 pubs, bars and social clubs in Hereford city. The mental health charity Herefordshire Mind has printed 20,000 of them for a new suicide prevention campaign, supported by Herefordshire Council.

Every venue has also been given a flowchart for its staff, called “Ask. Assess. Act.”. It sets out what to do if a customer seems to be in a mental health crisis or at risk of suicide. The charity announced the campaign on its website, and says Hereford Pubwatch helped get the resource into venues.

What is on the mats

Each mat lists where to get help, locally and nationally, and carries a QR code that opens a wider list of mental health support on a phone. Herefordshire Mind says the mats are meant to be discreet, so someone can pick one up for themselves or for a friend.

The services named in the campaign are:

• Herefordshire Mind
• We Are Farming Minds
• Andy’s Man Club
• SHOUT
• Men Walking and Talking
• NHS 111
• Men’s Mental Health Group

The tagline is “Are you bottling it all up? Reach out. We’re here.”

What bar staff are asked to do

The flowchart gives staff three steps:

• Ask direct and supportive questions about suicide.
• Assess the situation and how urgent it is, as they would a physical health emergency.
• Act by calling the emergency services, or by pointing the person to the beer mats.

The charity is clear about the limits. It says the aim is to give people the confidence to step in safely and know where to turn, “not to replace professional mental health services”.

Why pubs

Simon Willis manages Herefordshire Mind’s Safe Haven service. He said many people “struggle in silence and don’t know where to turn for support”.

“We want to get the message out there that it doesn’t matter who you reach out to so long as you do reach out,” he said. “Ultimately, if this campaign helps just one person reach out for support or saves one life, it will have achieved its goal.”

Cllr Carole Gandy is the council’s cabinet member for adults, health and wellbeing. She said hospitality staff “see so many different customers day in, day out” and can make “a really positive impact on people’s lives”.

Herefordshire Mind says the council’s funding and promotion are helping to extend the campaign’s reach across the county.

Where it fits in the county’s plan

The campaign matches a commitment the council has already made in writing. Its Suicide Prevention Strategy for 2025 to 2029 promises to:

• co-ordinate a countywide prevention campaign aimed at groups at higher risk of suicide
• make sure support is “effectively promoted and widely publicised”
• think about “where, when and how support is offered”

The strategy lists middle-aged men among the national priority groups, alongside children and young people. It also features both Safe Haven and We Are Farming Minds, two of the services on the mats.

What it means for you

You do not have to be in crisis to use this support, and you can use it on behalf of someone else.

• If a life is at risk now, call 999 and ask for an ambulance, or go to A&E at Hereford Hospital if it is safe to do so. That is Herefordshire Mind’s own urgent help advice, and it adds: “You’re not wasting anyone’s time.”
• Safe Haven supports anyone over 18 who is feeling emotional distress, anxiety or suicidal thoughts, by phone, email, online or face to face by appointment. Call 01432 372407. The council’s strategy lists its phone line as open from 5pm to 10pm, every day of the year.
• Shout is a free, confidential text service that runs 24 hours a day. Text SHOUT to 85258.
• Samaritans can be called free on 116 123.

Herefordshire Mind’s main office is at Heffernan House on Widemarsh Street, and can be reached on 01432 271 643 or at info@herefordshire-mind.org.uk.