Suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) unveils their Missing Birthdays installation at Westfield White City London, made up of 6,929 balloons that represent a real young life lost to suicide. Picture date: Monday January 9, 2024. PA Photo. The installation follows a new report by CALM only 15 per cent of parents and carers have discussed the topic of suicide with young adults in their care. To combat this, the charity is launching the CALM C.A.R.E kit, a free online resource which provides practical tools around talking about suicide with a young person. Photo credit should read: David Parry/PA Media Assignments

Missed Birthday’s was the third installment in our ongoing work with Campaign Against Living Miserably in partnership with ITV, the suicide prevention charity on a mission to help people end their misery, not their lives.

At the heart of the campaign was a major activation at Westfield London which went be live between 9th and 11th of  September 2024, including World Suicide Prevention Day on 10th September. The installation used a universal symbol of celebration, birthday balloons, to deliver a somber message of loss and raise awareness of the tragedy that is youth suicide. It featured 6,929 balloons, each one representing a young person who has died by suicide in the last decade* and the birthday they did not reach.

Visitors to the installation were given the opportunity to hear intimate voice notes from loved ones who lost a young person to suicide, describing what they were like and what they hope to achieve in being part of the Missed Birthdays campaign.

Supporting the project is a fully integrated campaign, including content and editorial coverage across Press, Digital and OOH. TV and radio is planned for later in the year.

To enable trusted adults to play an active role in ending youth suicide, all messaging in the campaign direct to a newly-created resource, the CALM C.A.R.E. kit – a suite of practical tools and resources designed to equip trusted adults with everything needed to be there for a young person – from introducing the topic to keeping them safe in crisis. More information is available at: https://care.thecalmzone.net/

*Statistics based on latest available data taken between 2012 – 2022.