The Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) is a national initiative hosted by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust (Mersey Care) and funded via its dedicated charity - Mersey Cares NHS Charity.
Mersey Care ensures accountability and efficient decision making for the ZSA and oversees the delivery and monitoring of ZSA projects. The ZSA team sits as part of Mersey Care’s Centre for Perfect Care working alongside the Safe from Suicide Team.
ZSA staff members are employed by Mersey Care and comply with NHS standards, policies and procedures including mandatory training.
Advisors to our work
At the ZSA, we are supported by clinicians, experts and professionals from Mersey Care and partner organisations who provide insights, recommendations and advice.
For specific projects, we are also fortunate to collaborate with people who share their lived experiences and a wide range of experts from different organisations who share their perspectives and expertise to strengthen our work. For example, more than 200 people shared their experiences to support the development of our Autism and Suicide Awareness Training.
The team is extremely grateful to everyone who shares their knowledge, expertise and experiences to support challenging stigmatised attitudes towards suicide.
Funding the ZSA
The ZSA was established in 2017 with fixed two-year funding from the Department of Health and Social Care to establish accessible suicide awareness training, digital tools and resources. In 2023 to 2024, NHS Digital and NHS Arden and Gem funded the ZSA to work with NHS Benchmarking to further develop digital data resources.
Mersey Cares NHS Charity raises charitable funds for ZSA including donations, sponsorships, grants and other funding which helps us to develop our suicide awareness projects and campaigns.
Charitable funding has enabled projects such as the redevelopment and relaunch of our Suicide Awareness Training which was taken over 20,000 times in just two months following it's launch.
Through charitable funds we are able to:
1. Develop and deliver new training opportunities for targeted communities.
2. Support more people to recognise what actions they can take to support suicide awareness and prevention.
3. Continue to research, develop and maintain accessible digital suicide data tools.
4. Keep the conversation going by sharing information and developing skills to help more people gain confidence to talk about suicide and challenge stigma.
The Trust's Charity Committee oversees charitable spending and supports the sustainability of the ZSA.
Find out more about how you can support the ZSA through charitable funds and get involved.
