A CHARITY which aims to prevent loss of a life to suicide has teamed up with an anonymous local donor to donate two suicide prevention benches in Dundee.
For the first time in Scotland, Legend on the Bench has provided benches containing a plaque with support contacts for people experiencing suicidal thoughts.
And today (FRIDAY) councillors, support workers and local people gathered to mark the occasion.
Cllr Ken Lynn, chair of the Dundee Health and Social Care Partnership Integration Joint Board said: “The loss of life to suicide has a profound effect on so many people, and one person who takes their own life is one too many.
“Help and support is provided in the city by a range of local organisations and Dundee’s suicide prevention delivery plan, ‘Creating Hope Together in Dundee’, lays out firm foundations for work going forward.
“These two benches complement this ongoing effort and will provide part of the city’s suicide prevention activities by ensuring that anyone affected by suicide knows where they can get support.”
Legend on a Bench was born from a family bereavement to suicide, when former Spurs and Chelsea midfielder Micky Hazard’s nephew Jay took his own life in 2019.
The family set up the charity and since 2024 have been donating benches with QR codes pointing people contemplating suicide to sources of help and support in parks and open spaces across England, describing them as a “legacy of hope”.
Dundee’s benches are sited at Slessor Gardens, adjacent to the Ember bus stop on South Castle Street and at the park area on Tannadice Street, adjacent to Hindmarsh Avenue.
Dundee City Council
Dundee draws skilled workers from a 60-minute catchment population of 640,000 and has a local population of over 140,000. The availability of a large pool of highly skilled labour is a key feature in the Dundee economy. Flexibility in the labour force is currently more prevalent in Dundee than in Scotland as a whole. All forms of labour market flexibility - part-time, temporary employment, self-employment and shift work - are widely operational within the city. Labour force stability in the city is excellent, enabling companies to plan with confidence. Labour turnover levels are less than 5% and absenteeism averages 2%.
