Designing out Suicide: Call for submissions!

Sunnbear Zine is currently creating a collaborative mental health zine. Our specific aim is to raise the awareness of women suffering with suicidal thoughts/ideations or mental health problems, which could lead to suicide.

Why women?
In the UK this year approximately 6000 people will end their own life, 3 quarters of this figure will be men. Today the targeting of men in high profile campaigns for suicide prevention is more widely promoted than those targeted towards women alone. In full support of existing campaigns that are targeted specifically at men we wish to create a new forum or an output that is tailored to support women, as a means of proactive balance. 90% of suicide is related some form of mental health problem, and there are many serious mental health issues that are statistically higher in women – for instance suicidal ideations (suicidal thoughts, unsuccessful attemps) are higher in women, as is unipolar depression. Arguably, these statistics may be higher due to women being more likely to seek help, either way the need to raise awareness and eliminate stigma is well-founded.

What is a zine, why create one?
A zine is a physical (and sometimes digital) self-published/produced/crafted/glued/stuck/mishmash/collaged form of a magazine. The reason that we’d like to create a zine is so that we can be creative, collaborative and create a high number of copies at low cost and be creative in the process . We’ll be hosting workshops to encourage collaboration both in conversation and with the practical side of the making.

What do we want?
We want you to feel empowered to submit anything at all

Stories:
– Your stories and experiences – do you yourself suffer with a mental health problem or know someone who does
– Short fictional stories – if you have any short stories you’d like to share around the themes above, please share them (this should also sit with ‘artistic’!

Artistic:
– Poetry
– Illustration / Design / Art
– Collage
– Photography

Self Help / Alternative solutions
– Advice – any tips for self-help and maintaining mental wellbeing and wellness / any bad advice you have received and why

What are the general themes of submission?
– Awareness
– Depression / Anxiety / Disorder
– Alternative solutions
– Therapy
– Drugs and Diagnosis
– NHS
– Politics
– Stigma
– Empowerment
– Experiences
– Wellbeing
– Anything you feel fits within the theme of mental health and suicide in particular

Who can submit?
Male and female contributors that interested in sharing something, named or anonymously

I’ll be hosting creative workshops to encourage conversation, creative play and collaboration. Please don’t feel if you are not creative that you can’t attend – there will be something for everyone above the age of 14th.
You can submit work at one of the workshops listed below or via email.
If submitting over email scan or photograph your work
Email: Lisa.ohara@hotmail.co.uk or designingoutsuicide@gmail.com
If you would like to meet up and submit separately or would like a chat about the project, please contact the inboxes above.

Delivery date:  27th April 2015
We would like all submissions to be made by the 27th of April so that the final zine can be distributed around the general election – however workshops are likely to run after that. We’d like to send a copy of the Zine out to MP’s around Sheffield and beyond!

I’ve set up a meeting for Monday (23rd of March) in the Showroom café, I’ll be talking about the themes in more detail and just wanted to have a bit of a start-up chat with whomever is interested in taking part.
I’m going to be putting on a drawing workshop on the following Sunday (29th) – location/info TBC!

If any of you have any questions please contact me here: lisa.ohara@hotmail.co.uk or designingoutsuicide@gmail.com.

You’ll find more info about events and the general gist of the Zine on the following links

www.designingoutsuicide.com

Please submit anonymously here: http://goo.gl/forms/1biUKwDRBo

Link to 1st group chat even Monday the 23rd of March:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1422241684742812/

First workshop is now booked for this Saturday! 

Thank you!
Lisa