Our Public Health team has partnered with SAFE South West to install a new bench and a collection of mental health support plaques in community locations across Torbay.

Torquay Rugby Club has a bench which has been fitted with plaques signposting people to mental health support if they need it.

Plaques have also been distributed to Paignton and Brixham rugby clubs, as well as pubs across the Bay.

Each plaque directs people to the Torbay Suicide Prevention Partnership’s Linktr.ee page – https://linktr.ee/torbayspp - which has links to support organisations.

There are also plaques with contact details for mental health charities Samaritans and Shout.

The initiative forms part of the Torbay Suicide Prevention Action Plan and aims to make it easier for people to access help when they need it the most.

The plaques encourage residents to reach out in whatever way feels right for them: speaking to someone in person or by phone, sending a text, reading a story of hope, or accessing guidance on how to support others.

As part of the Torbay Baton of Hope event last year, SAFE South West provided Torquay Rugby Club – which was a refreshment stop along the route - with a ‘come sit with us’ bench. The club has links with a bereaved family whose loved one was selected as a baton bearer.

Paignton Rugby Club will also be installing the plaques within their clubhouses and Brixham Rugby Club, a long-standing advocate for mental wellbeing in sport, has also pledged its support.

Councillor Hayley Tranter, Torbay Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, Public Health and Inequalities, said: “Around 20 people die by suicide each year in Torbay, with 75% of these deaths occurring in men. Sharing stories of recovery and hope is a proven protective factor.

“Many stories were shared during the Baton of Hope and I’m so pleased to see the legacy of that event live on through this initiative. Suicide is preventable, and suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility.”

Becky Kerbyson works at Torquay Rugby Club and was also a baton bearer at the Baton of Hope. She said: “Between the plaque and the bench, these are good ways to offer help for people who need it. Rugby can be quite a manly sport and we have had players who have survived suicide. The Baton of Hope showed that when people come together, the support is there.”

SAFE South West, established in 2013, is a community safety charity working closely with Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, alongside communities and other emergency services. The charity has helped deliver a wide range of community safety projects, including resilience grants, water safety equipment, road safety initiatives, home safety support such as stairgates, and mindfulness gardens at fire stations.

The idea for the mental health support benches originated from a firefighter in North Devon, who approached SAFE South West to help develop it.

Steve Smith of SAFE South West said: “The project has strong support and input from mental health and wellbeing leads across the region, as well as councillors, the Samaritans, and Experts by Experience volunteering with Open Mental Health.”

The Public Health team is also working with SWISCo to install plaques on additional existing benches across the area. Community organisations interested in displaying the plaques are encouraged to get in touch.

For further information or to request plaques for your club or venue, please contact: batonofhope@torbay.gov.uk.

Pictured left to right: Becky Kerbyson, Torbay's Director of Public Health Dr Lincoln Sargeant and Steve Smith