- Jake Starkey
We are incredibly proud to share that we have won the Inclusive Excellence in Co-production Award at the Sussex Co-production Conference for our work establishing and developing the Suicide Prevention Lived Experience Advisory Group (SP LEAG) over the past two years.
This award recognises a core principle of our mission: ensuring that people with lived experience of suicidal thoughts and attempts help guide our priorities, programmes, and decisions, keeping their voices central to our work and suicide prevention efforts.
What is the Sussex Co-production Conference?
The Sussex Co-production Conference brings together people with lived experience, frontline practitioners, commissioners and voluntary sector organisations from across Sussex. Its purpose is to champion good practice in co-production and to explore how we can work together more meaningfully and inclusively.
What is co-production?
Co-production happens when people come together as equals to shape services that truly work for everyone. It brings together those who draw on care and support, carers, and professionals, all collaborating from the start. By centring lived experience, it ensures that services are designed by the people who know them best, ensuring that lived experience shapes what we do, not only what we say.
Our Suicide Prevention Lived Experience Advisory Group
Our SP LEAG was created to ensure that people with experience of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts have a meaningful and equal voice in shaping our work.
This includes influencing:
- Campaign messaging and language
- Training development and delivery
- Service design and digital tools
- Organisational priorities and strategic decisions
Our group provides a platform for people with lived experience of suicide to share their insights and shape prevention programmes and policies at local, regional, and national levels ensuring that our strategies remain responsive, practical, and compassionate.
Why this award matters
Winning this award affirms the time, care, and commitment we have invested in building our SP LEAG over the past two years. It demonstrates that trauma-informed, person-centred approaches can be both ethical and truly impactful. Most importantly, it matters for our members. It recognises lived experience as expertise, honours the courage, insight, and leadership they bring, and shows that their contributions are meaningful, valued, and driving real change.