Sir David Amess, MP for Southend West, showed his support for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) at an event in Parliament on Wednesday 25th April.

The local MP joined calls for a government minister to take an official responsibility on suicide prevention and specialised bereavement support.

At present, suicide claims the lives of more than 6,000 British men and women every year and is the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. Every single suicide is believed to directly affect 135 people. Beyond this unimaginable cost, every single suicide costs an estimated £1.67 million – a cost to families, friends and wider society.

Together with the UK’s leading male suicide prevention charity CALM, Sir David and more than 230,000 members of the British public who have signed a petition are seeking to get those at risk the support they need.