Impulse London hosts When We Speak to honour World Suicide Prevention Day

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When We Speak, Impulse London’s first-ever event to mark World Suicide Prevention Day, will be held on Wednesday, 9 September 2026, from 6:30pm to 9:00pm, at Queer Britain (2 Granary Square, London N1C 4BH). When We Speak is free to attend, but space is limited. Get your free tickets ahead of time at Eventbrite.

The hopeful, uplifting spoken word event will highlight community voices, including Myndstate and Impulse London’s new Mental Health Ambassador, Dhiren Doshi-Smith, to start a conversation about mental health and self-harm within the LGBTQ+ community in London.

Alex Tridico (he/him), President of Impulse London, said: “Impulse London’s When We Speak is just one event being held to observe World Suicide Prevention Day. This year, all 26 Impulse chapters will mark the day for the first time. It’s a special moment where everyone involved with Impulse in cities around the world will take time to reflect on the mental health issues that are felt acutely within the LGBTQ+ community.”

In England in 2024, 5,717 suicides were registered, with an overall rate of 11.1 deaths per 100,000 people. In that same year, men accounted for almost three in four suicides.

An Office for National Statistics analysis found that people identifying with an LGB+ orientation had a suicide rate of 50.3 per 100,000 people, compared with 23.1 per 100,000 for people identifying as straight or heterosexual, meaning the risk was estimated to be 2.2 times higher for our community. The rates are thought to be even higher still among our trans and gender-diverse siblings.

"There is so much stigma and silence around self-harm, and we want to open those hard-to-have but much-needed conversations. When we lose someone we love to suicide, we often wish we could have done more. At When We Speak, we will share warning signs to watch for and questions to ask to help keep someone safe. We will also signpost to Samaritans and Switchboard for anyone who needs a friendly and non-judgemental listening ear,” Ant Babajee (he/him), Director of Advocacy for Impulse London, shared.

Impulse London’s event will encourage people to feel hopeful about how they can intervene to prevent self-harm: Ask twice. Listen longer. Say the word. Stay with them. Spoken word performances, a fireside chat and a Q&A will aim to give audience members the tools to recognise the potential warning signs of someone contemplating self-harm and help them feel comfortable to start a potentially lifesaving conversation with them by asking: “Are you really OK?”

Dhiren Doshi-Smith, Mental Health Ambassador for Impulse London, said: “As a therapist, I see every day how much difference it makes when someone simply asks, listens and stays present, rather than trying to fix. So much of what stops people from reaching out is shame, the fear that needing help means something is wrong with you, or that you should be able to cope alone. When We Speak is about taking that shame and stigma out of asking for help, and making those conversations feel possible. Ask twice. Listen longer. Say the word. Stay with them.”

Mental Health Support

If someone is in immediate danger or cannot keep themselves safe, call 999 or go to A&E. Samaritans: call 116 123, free, 24/7. Urgent mental health help in England: call NHS 111 and select the mental health option where available. Text support: text SHOUT to 85258 for free 24/7 text support in the UK. Switchboard is the UK’s LGBTQ+ support line: call 0800 0119 100, 10am–10pm daily.

About Impulse London

Impulse London is the London chapter of the global Impulse United movement, and was set up in 2017 to engage, support and connect with queer men who participate in chemsex. Entirely volunteer-run, Impulse London also runs events and campaigns around mental health, HIV and sexual health, and social justice. Their Instagram is: @impulselondon. Impulse London is an affiliate group of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

About AIDS Healthcare Foundation

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 3 million individuals across 50 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. In January 2025, AHF received the MLK, Jr. Social Justice Award, The King Center’s highest recognition for an organization leading work in the social justice arena. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.