Olly’s Future is a suicide prevention charity set up in memory of Olly Hare. Oliver went to University College London (UCL) and got a First in History six months before he died on 14th February 2017. The Olly’s Future Leadership Programme is being run for the first time at UCL, the aim is to educate young people in suicide prevention, helping them to develop key skills for university and starting employment.
Right – Oliver at UCL.
Shiv Patel captain of the Red Star team won the 2021 UCL Altruism award (The Oliver Hare Altruism Award – Olly’s Future (ollysfuture.org.uk) Shiv created this award for students to have more awareness of suicide prevention.
Programme description
There are 2 main parts to Olly’s Future Leadership and Ambassador Programme:
- Suicide-Safer Student Society Award
The Suicide – Safer Student Society Award aims to educate and teach skills on what to do if you are worried about someone who is thinking about suicide.
There are three tasks to complete to achieve this award, all funded by Olly’s Future.
- The committee must attend the Talking About Suicide: Ten Tools session. This is a 90 minute online training course which aims to equip attendees with the tools and confidence to start a conversation with someone they are worried about.
- At least one committee member must attend an ASIST two day suicide prevention training course. This will teach attendees how to recognise someone who is experiencing thoughts of suicide, and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety.
- Your society must run a wellbeing related event to raise awareness of good mental health and support services.
- Olly’s Future Ambassador – Volunteer Role
Olly’s Future supports student leaders to become Olly’s Future Ambassadors, encouraging them to take on specialist training and develop initiatives in their communities to prevent suicides.
The student leader must complete three tasks to be an Olly’s Future Ambassador:
- They must attend The Talking About Suicide: Ten Tools session. This is a 90 minute online training course which aims to equip attendees with the tools and confidence to start a conversation with someone they are worried about.
- They must attend an ASIST two day suicide prevention training course. This will teach the student leader how to recognise someone who is experiencing thoughts of suicide, and work with them to create a plan that will support their immediate safety.
- They must give talks and run events, aimed at suicide prevention, for example at their university Open Mic night.
The Engagement and Communications Coordinator will help and support the Ambassador through this role. We also would like to welcome ambassadors to our parties, challenge events and to be part of our wider family of other young people who are passionate about suicide prevention
Summary
For both awards, every student will receive a certificate and a statement of thanks relating to their work with us.
The Leadership Programme will be supported by the team at Olly’s Future throughout. This programme is the first model at UCL and will be rolled out in other universities. The aim of this programme is to: reduce suicides, equip young people with suicide prevention skills, and build resilience and confidence in young people.
