Charities raise alarm over suicides of young asylum seekers in UK
Call for sweeping changes to support teenagers after up to a dozen found to have taken their own lives
Dozens of charities have called on UK government ministers to make sweeping changes to support young asylum seekers and refugees after up to a dozen were identified to have taken their own lives.
Forty-six different charities dealing with issues of asylum, children and mental health, have written to the health minister Nadine Dorries, who has responsibility for suicide prevention. They highlight the alarming number of suicides they have discovered among teenage asylum seekers after fleeing persecution in their home countries, leaving their families behind and making difficult journeys to reach safety in the UK.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or by emailing jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.