Ripples Story: “AI can amplify human roles”

In this article, Amelia Wrighton, Co-founder and CEO of Suicide&Co, shares how her team are exploring the use of AI to strengthen their work supporting people bereaved by suicide.

When ChatGPT first burst onto the scene, like many, we at Suicide&Co were met with a mix of scepticism and intrigue. The tell-tale signs of AI-generated text were often evident, with countless dashes and emojis everywhere, but we were excited about learning more. As a young charity, we’ve always prided ourselves on being forward-thinking and adaptable. Ultimately, we recognised that we couldn’t afford to dismiss a technology with the potential to significantly enhance our work and improve efficiency.

Before delving into our AI journey, it’s important to introduce our work for those who may not be familiar. Suicide&Co is a national charity to support those bereaved by suicide and open up the conversation around suicide-related grief to prevent mental health deterioration after the trauma of losing a loved one to suicide.

We are a service delivery charity that focuses on providing one-to-one care to our community through our counselling and casework, and we use technology to bolster that support, with an App that offers self-care tools and guidance. Our vision is to provide adults bereaved by suicide in England and Wales with timely and effective support, because everyone deserves to feel like they have permission to grieve.

Our community is bigger than you might think. In 2023, 6,069 people died by suicide in England and Wales (ONS) and for every person gone, there are said to be 135 people affected and six people directly bereaved. This means our target community is between 36,000 and 819,000 people each year. People who are largely suffering in silence and need support rebuilding their lives around their grief. Those numbers fuel our ambition to take technology seriously, as they are vital for scaling our service delivery. So it was back to AI.

Our initial cautious optimism quickly evolved into a proactive exploration of how AI could benefit our charity. The paramount concern, given the sensitive nature of our work, was security. We rigorously researched and ultimately adopted AI tools that met our data protection requirements. Currently, we use Gemini for the majority of tasks and Jamie AI for securely recording meetings, allowing us to focus on the conversation rather than extensive note-taking.

With the security aspect addressed, the next crucial step was to thoughtfully consider where and how AI would be integrated into our operations. We decided on a two-pronged approach. Firstly, within our service operations, AI is used to streamline administrative processes and enhance internal workflows, but with an absolute and unwavering commitment to never utilising any client data with these tools. Confidentiality and trust are the cornerstones of our work, and this boundary is non-negotiable.

Secondly, our growth team enthusiastically embraced AI. Here, it has been a game-changer for tackling the dreaded “blank page syndrome.” Whether it’s crafting compelling email campaigns, refining our website copy, or conducting essential research, AI acts as a powerful brainstorming partner and an invaluable assistant, helping us to articulate our message even more effectively. It allows our team to focus on strategic thinking and human connection, rather than getting bogged down in initial drafting. Can you tell AI wrote that paragraph?

Our AI journey is still in its early stages, and we have a long way to go. However, the benefits we have already experienced are significant, allowing us to be more efficient and impactful in our work. We are now focused on building a more robust AI policy for staff and exploring the role of AI in our practical client support offering.

Our ultimate goal is to leverage these incredible tools not to replace human connections but to amplify our ability to provide timely, effective, and compassionate support to those who need it most, ensuring that no one has to face the aftermath of suicide alone.

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