Short films reveal travellers' suicide risks

A Sussex man has produced a series of short films to highlight the "scandalous" rate of people in the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community who take their own lives.

Jake Bowers' brother, Danny Bowers, took his own life in 2017.

The NHS Race & Health Observatory said the suicide rate in the community was "estimated to be up to seven times higher than all other communities."

There were 6,069 suicides registered in England and Wales (11.4 deaths per 100,000 people) in 2023 according to the Office for National Statistics.

Mr Bowers, a Romany journalist and film maker from Hastings, said: "It's scandalous. If this was any other community there would be an outcry and people would be doing more."

Mr Bowers' films, which were commissioned by the NHS, explore the cost of poor mental health within his community.

"There's an epidemic in the Gypsy and Traveller community that's only known by the families who are suffering in silence.

"Our lives are being cut short by a mental health crisis that too often results in suicide," said Mr Bowers.

"The NHS needs to do more. We as a community need to do more to talk to each other, to talk about mental health, to talk about suicide.

"The worst thing we can do is privately be in pain but publicly full of pride."

Mr Bowers said his films featured "powerful stories", including that of his own brother, Danny.

He said knowing somebody who killed themselves "takes that pain and spreads it like a cancer to all the people that survive".

"I truly believe that hearing these stories may encourage Gypsy, Roma and Traveller men in particular to go and get help," Mr Bowers added.

The NHS Race & Health Observatory is an independent expert body, established by the health service to identify and tackle inequalities experienced in health and healthcare by minority communities in England.

Its director, Prof Habib Naqvi, said: "Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities face barriers in accessing digital services, securing employment, and have limited access to local healthcare services.

"We hope these films can provide local government, charities and NHS services with useful insights to enable co-design and delivery of more focused and targeted mental health support."

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