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For many people struggling with their mental health, the Internet can provide shelter, but for others, it can lead to a downward spiral.
Josh Hendy, 21, of Hampshire, took his own life last year after searching for harmful content online.
Here, her sister Alice, who works in cybersecurity, tells Sky News how she plans to launch her intervention tool online that could save lives.
I tragically lost my brother, Josh, on November 25, 2020 to suicide. Josh was my only brother and passed away too early at just 21 years old.
My day job involves working in IT and cybersecurity, and I have experience working for global financial institutions and insurance firms in London.
Josh Hendy had been searching for harmful content online. Photo: Alice Hendy
After Josh’s death, I looked at his phone and laptop and saw that he had been researching techniques for killing himself.
The content available online after a harmful search is too readily available and does not provide sufficient intervention between a user searching for harmful content and the subsequent display of the search results.
I decided that I had to do more to prevent more lives from being lost to suicide. I wanted to make sure that more proactive help and support was provided to people in mental health crisis who are looking for harmful content.
I thought I would put my IT skills to good use, so for the last seven weeks I have created R; pple.
Alice hopes her online tool can save others. Photo: Alice Hendy
I wanted to channel my pain into something positive for others.
Using my contacts in the IT industry, I have enlisted support from large mental health charities, including CALM, YoungMinds, Grassroots, Hub of Hope, and Jacob’s One Million Lives, which will be featured in Tool R; pple to indicate your support to users. services.
R; pple addresses lack of intervention and instead shows people an immediate, vibrant screen on a user’s device once they’ve been flagged as looking for content related to self-harm or suicide.
R; pple is an online push technique that consists of a powerful message of hope that things can and will get better, as well as providing a selection of mental health support resources in a variety of different communication options (call, text, web chat, self-help app, pocket resources).
The online tool redirects users searching for harmful content to a display page that contains details of charitable partners.
Anyone feeling desperate and researching harmful content will be urged to seek the mental health support they deserve and need in the way that works best for them.
I couldn’t save my brother, but I can intercept others. My only hope is that I can reduce the number of lives that are being taken too soon through this game-changing tool.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or send an email to [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
