Lífsbrú — The Centre for Suicide Prevention was established in 2023 and officially opened in early 2024. It operates under the auspices of the Directorate of Health, which is responsible for suicide prevention in Iceland and acts as a professional advisor to the government in this area.
Lífsbrú aims to reduce suicide rates in Iceland as part of the government’s action plan (Icelandic). At Lífsbrú, initiatives are implemented across all levels of suicide prevention, namely prevention, intervention, and post-suicide support.
The name Lífsbrú is a metaphor. It refers to the awareness of the importance of a constructive and healthy life, starting from infancy. The name Lífsbrú also offers a conceptual bridge to those with suicidal thoughts so that the persons concerned stop and envision a possible way out.
The logo uses timeless imagery. The semicolon means that a person's story is not over; there is always a continuation after a semicolon. The bridge is a symbol of a way out of difficulties. Together, the symbols create a strong and hopeful image. The yellow colour represents light and hope and is globally associated with suicide prevention, while the blue colour stands for trust and stability. The idea is for the sign to shine a light in the dark, offer support and show that we are all in this together.
The name and logo of Lífsbrú comes from Efli - Almannatengsl.
-Automatic translation
The board of Lífsbrú - Centre for Suicide Prevention:
Medical Director of Health
Dóra Guðrún Guðmundsdóttir, head of public health at the Directorate of Health
Guðrún Jóna Guðlaugsdóttir, Project manager in suicide prevention at the Directorate of Health
Högni Óskarsson, psychiatrist and advisor to the Directorate of Health
The role of the Council on Suicide Prevention in Iceland is to act as a consultant to the Directorate of Health in matters related to suicide prevention and support for survivors.
Edda Lilja Guðmundsdóttir designs the little yellow sweater. She designed the sweater for Yellow September and gave Lífsbrú the knitting recipe to support suicide prevention.
The Icelandic knitting community is large, and there is a long knitting tradition. Knitting involves mindfulness, which can be beneficial for mental health. The hope of those behind the Little Yellow Sweater is that a group of people will knit according to Edda Lilja’s recipe, either alone or participate in organized knitting. The Little Yellow Sweater would thus connect knitting people together, and the result would then be given to Lífsbrú as a gift. Lífsbrú would, in turn, sell the Little Yellow Sweater to fundraise for Yellow September and other suicide prevention measures. In this way, the strength and cooperation of knitting people will be useful for the cause, but hopefully also for connecting people together and creating good knitting sessions.
Those who cannot knit but want to support Lífsbrú - Centre for Suicide Prevention are advised to support the Lífsbrú fund by making a deposit to the following account:
Lífsbrú — Centre for Suicide Prevention seeks to fulfil its objectives through comprehensive collaboration among the government, professionals, users, institutions, and associations, as well as through fundraising for suicide prevention. A fund with the same name has been established.
