Market Engagement Exercise - Suicide Prevention Outreach Programme Targeting Men

Descriptions

Southwark Council is currently planning to procure a suicide prevention outreach programme as part of suicide prevention campaign targeting men. The proposed programme is likely to run for 6 months, commencing from November 2025.

Men are at significantly higher risk of suicide and are less likely to engage with certain traditional mental health services. This programme will focus on reaching men in communities where stigma, silence, and structural barriers prevent open conversations about mental health. This might include those affected by working in male-dominated industries, isolation, relationship breakdown, addiction, or cultural stigma around help-seeking. This is part of our wider public health effort to reduce suicide risk among men in Southwark through proactive community engagement, culturally competent messaging, and peer-led conversation.

We are seeking delivery partners who can engage men where they live, work, socialise, and gather including construction sites, transport depots, barber shops, gyms, cafes, religious centres, and other male-heavy environments. We want to hear from organisations with experience in:

• Delivering outreach in workplaces or community spaces

• Building trust with population groups who may not access formal support

• Working in partnership and engaging with key stakeholders such as workplaces

• Using peer connectors or people with lived experience

• Co-creating messaging that is relatable and stigma-reducing

• Raising awareness of local and national support services

we are particularly interested in:

• Organisations with experience of delivering community outreach and/ or community engagement

• Organisations who have delivered brief, informal awareness sessions to workplaces or community groups

• Organisations who can facilitate conversations using accessible resources (e.g. short training videos)

• Organisations with experience of engaging with communities around mental and suicide prevention

We would welcome responses from any organisations delivering these services or similar services, whether or not they are currently being delivered to local authorities.

Please return your questionnaire via the messaging facility on the Pro-Contract portal and/or email to the named contact:

https://procontract.due-north.com

Please respond by 18.08.2025