Mel Bates - Listening Services Manager

I first got involved with Self Injury Support when I started volunteering on the helpline 9 years ago. I found the values of the organisation and the dedication of the team an inspiration. I joined the staff team in 2020 first as a services assistant then as a listening services manager. When I’m not at work I enjoy volunteering for another project, boxing, running and walking my dog. Nature, politics, music, friends and family are all important to me.

Latest

Self Injury Through Time (SITT)

A new theatre group for people with personal experience of self-harm - starting 16th January 2024 at acta Community Theatre
Creative Collaborations
May Playlist - AMBIVALENCE

For May we are inviting suggestions to add to our playlist on the theme of AMBIVALENCE - take a look at others' suggestions for inspiration
Women Listening to Women Archive NOW AVAILABLE at Bishopsgate Archive

We are very excited to announce that the archive developed from our Women Listening to Women Oral History Project now has a permanent home at Bishopsgate Archive in London. The archive includes oral histories, administrative papers, ephemera, photographs and logbooks relating to Bristol Crisis Service for Women (BCSW) and Self Injury Support (SIS).

Sian Rance - Listening Services Manager
Murphy Pickard - Lived Experience Support Worker
Jen Price - Lived Experience Support Worker
Amy Cook - Lived Experience Team Leader
Jess Puplett - Urgent Care and Listening Services Manager
Gisela Wrest - HR & Facilities
Naomi Salisbury - Director
Jobs - We're Recruiting!

Click here for more details. We are currently recruiting for a Communications Officer - apply by 12pm on Monday 11th December 2023! Please get in touch at [email protected] with any queries or applications.

UK Support Groups and Other Services

Comprehensive listing of local and national self-harm and self-injury support groups and organisations
Women's Self Injury Support Services - Temporary Service Suspension

After some careful thought, we have come to the decision to temporarily suspend our listening support services in the new year. This includes our helpline, text, email, & webchat support services. We understand that a temporary closure may not feel like a positive thing & could feel difficult, but we want to reassure you that we want to be here to offer the best support that we can & in order to do that, we need to take a break now to in place the things in place that will help us do that
Casual Sex As Self Harm

For months I would go to the areas of town where lone women were told not to go. I would purposely go to the places and do the things that I knew were putting me at risk. I fooled myself into thinking I was in control, that it was a calculated risk. I wasn't finding people on a dating app, I wasn't going on blind dates or finding people through mutual friends. I was going to the bars that people would advise me to avoid and actively looking for a one night stand.
Rainbow Journal - Personal Self-Help Diary
What if I don't want to stop self-harming?
Distractions and alternatives
Helpful responses to self-injury

Short and long term helpful responses to self-injury
About Us - Our Vision, Our Mission, Our Values

Read more about our vision that anyone who uses self-injury knows they are not alone; that everyone understands that self-injury is a complex and important issue we should all care about and that together we tackle both the causes and stigma of self-injury.
Where You Harm and What You Do
Reducing self-harm worksheet