A writer from the Dyfi Valley is fundraising to create a free resource on living with suicidal thoughts and how loved ones can help.

Two years ago, after a failed suicide attempt, KY sat with a group of friends as they tried to process what happened and figure out what to do next.

Following a quick discharge from Bronglais, it was up to loved ones to hold KY in this most delicate time, and up to KY to “figure out how to live again”.

Amidst a backdrop of overstretched state support for suicidal people, they turned to books, online courses, and each other to figure out how to live with chronic suicidality in community.

Now, KY wants to create the resource they were all looking for: “Suicidal thoughts are more common than people think; most people will know of somebody who experiences them, even if they’re not open about it.

“Some will know people who have attempted or died by suicide; others will know the feeling hopeless and not wanting to be here anymore.

“We often don’t talk about these things, but beginning to talk is pretty big because it helps it become less of an untouchable thing for people who feel alone in their experience.

“My hope is that in sharing, both about being chronically suicidal and supporting others through it, and losing others to it, it will help others wondering how to deal with this themselves, or how to support loved ones.”

To do this hard task, rather than go to publishers that often shy away from such topics, they are fundraising £8,970 to pay for their time to write, the resources needed and printing costs.

They aim to create the book as a donation-based ‘companion’ online and in print for those feeling alone, including case studies, shared learnings, interviews with carers and survivors, and chapters touching on topics including ‘Navigating Suicide in Workplaces’ and ‘What About Those Who Don’t Simply “Heal”?’.

This is not an issue alien to Wales, and is actually a problem that is increasing according to recent ONS data.

From April 2024 - March 2025, 440 people died by suspected suicide in Wales, an increase on the previous two years, representing a rate of 16.8 people dying by suicide per 100,000.

The rates of suspected suicides were over twice as high among residents in the most deprived areas of Wales compared to the country’s least deprived areas.

If you are struggling, reach out for help and support:

Call Samaritans on 116 123 or email [email protected] 24 hours, seven days a week - for everyone

Call the NHS on 111, 24 hours a day, seven days a week

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) 0800 58 58 58, 5pm-midnight daily, or via webchat

Papyrus prevention of young suicide HOPELINE247 call 0800 068 41 41, text 07860 039967, or email [email protected]

Childline for children and young people under 19, call 0800 1111 (the number will not show up on your phone bill)

SOS Silence of Suicide call 0808 115 1505 – 8pm to midnight Mon-Fri, 4pm to midnight Sat-Sun, email [email protected]

Check out Not the Void offering peer support online

Neuromancers online helpchat, peer support and workshops for young people in need of mental health support

Battle Scars, a survivor-led charity offering regional support around self-harm


Across the UK, tens of thousands attempt suicide each year.

Wales has the highest rate of suicide in men out of any UK nation - 6,723 men died by suicide in Wales since 2000, with 337 men dying in 2024 alone.

KY said: “I want us to do more than just keep people alive, I want to work on creating communities that folks enjoy being alive in and address the reasons people struggle in the first place.

“There are many things we can't change, but also many things we can.”