By Bose
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Oluwaseun Dosunmu, Bradford-based mental health, arts and well-being accelerator, has hosted ‘save a life conference’, a suicide prevention dialogue with Creatives in West Yorkshire.
The event focused on the World Suicide Prevention theme – “Changing the Narratives’.
Over 12 Bradford Creatives were recognised as Suicide Prevention Ambassadors and everyone made a commitment to utilising their platforms to promote suicide prevention, provide support intentional support to friends, and community workers.
A visual artist, Lateefat Tobun, presented a unique piece called ‘Thread of Hope’ to corroborate the discussion.
The conference also featured a panel discussion session where some of the panelists gave some key points on how to change the suicide narratives.
Dosunmu, who had worked as a Crisis Support worker, canvassed the need to be emotionally sensitive, as creatives have the opportunity and roles in using their platforms efficiently to spread messages of hope.
Also speaking, a visual artist, Jumoke Muritala, acknowledged that rejection in the Creative industry is a big issue that affects one’s mental health. She encouraged Creatives to remain resilient, focused on their art and believe in themselves.
Contributing, a Runway model and actor, Glowria Osedeba, affirmed that rejection and bullying were also major issues that affect the confidence of new models which negative impact could cause them to have doubts in their abilities.
“This can also have a toll on their mental health and if things aren’t managed well, it could lead to suicide ideations and eventually suicide,” she said.
Speaking on cyber bullying, Jorokee kamuvete, a Namibian, who is a lifestyle content creator shared her recent challenges of cyber bullying that caused her to lose confidence in her work and forced her to take a break.
She also spoke about how she was insulted and mocked online because of her African accent. She said this online bullying affected her mental health and caused her to have doubt in her craft, which she enjoyed doing.
Elizabeth Ebisemiju, mental health advocate, shared her piece of work. She talked about why creatives need to be mindful of making judgements because human beings have different perspectives.
In her keynote speech, Ebisemiju, also a mental health visual artist and business consultant emphasised the power of story-telling and creativity in addressing suicide stigma.
“So many people around us are silently struggling. Suicide prevention begins when we change how we speak, how we listen, and how we create spaces where people feel safe enough to be seen” she said.
A drummer set and saxophonist, Dayo sax, shared how he was called out by a respected person for not good enough to play.
