A Song and Film Bringing Hope to Prevent Suicide

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or be in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. When Jo Lambert discovered a loved one was feeling suicidal, she says she was paralysed with fear. The anxiety about what she might lose interfered with her ability to be present, but over time she learned to set aside her own dread and focus completely on the person in crisis. Once she stopped trying to control the outcome, she found she could offer steadiness and presence. Lambert turned that learning into a commitment to share what helped her. In 2023 she joined five other people with lived experience of suicidality to make a short film commissioned by a UK suicide prevention programme. The film, called Hold the Hope, is built around a poem Lambert wrote and is performed in the film by spoken-word artist George the Poet. The verse asks for emotional safety and compassionate presence from anyone supporting someone in distress. Lines such as Can you be strong enough / Stay by my side for long enough distill a clear request: connect, mirror, and validate. The poem asks listeners to hold the space, accept torment without panic, and remain calm when someone speaks about suicidal thoughts. The film places these words over ordinary scenes and quiet faces, reminding viewers that the right human response can open a path toward hope. Lambert now works for the South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, coordinating suicide prevention training, and the trust has woven the film into its awareness sessions. Lambert and psychiatric nurse Justine Trippier often show the film during training; Trippier says hearing directly from people with lived experience weakens stigma and fosters compassion. The raw emotional honesty in the film frequently encourages participants to share their own stories, sometimes as carers who have sat beside someone in crisis, sometimes as clinicians who have lost a patient. This year Lambert collaborated with composer Joe Waymouth to turn the poem into a song. She recruited volunteer singers — students, NHS staff including Trippier, and people with lived experience — and recorded the piece in a church, using the choir setting to convey recognition and respect for the painful reality of suicidal thoughts. Psychologist Ursula Whiteside of Now Matters Now, who brings both professional and personal experience, says the song is powerful because it tells listeners plainly what would help: this is what I want you to do. Lambert hopes the film and song can reach broader audiences through the arts as part of the trust’s strategy to make suicide prevention everyone’s business. She has paired the song with a freestyle dance video on YouTube and plans a hip-hop version, while emphasising that arts projects complement rather than replace formal training. The message is that these pieces reflect what helped a group of survivors, not a substitute for statutory instruction. Lambert also speaks candidly about the exhaustion of caring for someone in crisis. She remembers sitting with a loved one for up to 16 hours until the immediate danger passed, and when fatigue came she would imagine herself holding on until the other person could climb back up. I’m going to hold the hope for you until you can do it, she would tell them. Growing research and practice reinforce the value of lived experience in suicide prevention: hearing from people who have survived suicidal feelings and found help can reduce stigma and encourage others to seek support. As the 988 Lifeline notes, many more people seriously consider suicide than die by it, and with compassionate presence and the right support, people do choose life. Lambert’s film and song are intended to be reminders of that possibility and invitations to learn how to be with someone when they need it most.