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Ripple Suicide Prevention
Alice Hendy lost her only sibling, Josh, to suicide in 2020, discovering afterward that he had been researching harmful content online. With a background in IT and Cyber Security, Alice founded R;pple Suicide Prevention to address the lack of intervention in such searches. R;pple provides an immediate, hopeful message and connects users to mental health resources like calls, texts, and apps, aiming to guide individuals in crisis toward the support they need.
Our work in suicide prevention
R;pple is an online monitoring tool which flags harmful content relating to self-harm and suicide and replaces it in the first instance with a vibrant, bold interception tool containing a message of hope and range of mental health support channels for users in crisis to utilise.
R;pple displays support, a range of mental health helplines and guidance before any comments, videos and forums relating to harmful content are displayed. Through this initiative, a user feeling despair and searching for distressing material online will be urged to instead seek the support they require in order to improve their mental health and live a long and fulfilling life.
Mental health battles can have a ripple effect, extending well beyond the user’s immediate family and friends. How you are affected will depend on your relationship to the person who has passed away, the strength of the attachment and the circumstances around the death.
R;pple aims to provide individuals with mental health struggles with a range of support options in a variety of different communication methods to prevent self-harm and suicide.
Our current priorities
The primary goals for R;pple include securing funding to support the monitoring tool and configuring keywords related to harmful content. Efforts are focused on building awareness of the R;pple brand by connecting with mental health charities, businesses, and increasing social media presence. Establishing a customer base involves collaborating with online search engines to implement the R;pple tool when users search for self-harm or suicide-related keywords.
A steering committee will be formed, including representatives from law enforcement, MPs, mental health charities, and businesses, to guide the initiative. Initially, local support will be rallied in Hampshire, with plans to expand outreach further afield.
Our current challenges
R;pple is a brand new concept. We require endorsement and support of well-established organisations relating to suicide prevention in order for us to approach the IT industry and gain backing from search engines and web forums to display the R;pple banner on their pages relating to potentially harmful content.