We are working closely with the Government at both regional and national levels to ensure that the needs of children are at the forefront of policy relating to suicide bereavement. Through our campaigning work, we’re committed to combatting the stigma faced by suicide-bereaved children.

By creating lasting change we will break the cycle of poor mental health and suicide risk to help them to live fulfilled lives despite such a traumatic childhood experience.

Our current campaigning work includes working with Dame Caroline Dinenage MP to table a Westminster hall debate on improving the support for children after suicide. As part of this debate, we will draw attention to:

• The urgent need to collect and publish data on a nationwide basis on the number of children bereaved by parental suicide
• The need to provide specialist bereavement services for children after parental suicide to deal with their complicated grief
• The need for suicide bereavement training for people working with children and young people to ensure they’re able to provide timely support
• New research which highlights the highest suicide risk is in children who’ve lost a parent to suicide when they’re between 2 and 5 years, and the subsequent need to focus on early years settings

Luna CEO Anna Wardley (centre) hosted Dame Caroline Dinenage MP (second from left) at the House of Parliament with her Five Island Swim Challenge support team after her non-stop swim around the Isle of Wight in 2013