Community responds to concerning suicide trends in Merthyr Tydfil
The Valleys Lead spoke to two people in Merthyr Tydfil impacted by suicide who went on to provide community support they felt was lacking.
Hello and welcome to The Valleys Lead.
We want to preface this edition with a trigger warning - the story involves mention of death by suicide. Should you need help to speak about your mental health please contact Samaritans 116 123 or the CALL Helpline: 0800 132 737.
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The Valleys Briefing
(A little round-up of some stories in brief from our valleys.)
A new Community Alcohol Partnership launched in Ebbw Vale this week, bringing local organisations together to reduce alcohol-related harm among children and young people and support safer communities where everyone can feel safe. The partnership is a key priority of the Blaenau Gwent Anti-Social Behaviour Taskforce, which has recognised the impact that underage drinking can have on young people’s health, wellbeing and life chances, as well as on the wider community. Partners pledged to educate and support young people about the risks of underage drinking and making responsible choices about alcohol, restrict access to alcohol, and provide positive alternatives.
Neath Port Talbot Council has approved plans to reduce the operating hours of its telephone lines in the council tax section following a recent review which stated that over the past 12 months, the council service handled more than 57,000 telephone calls. Access hours via telephone contact will be cut by around five and a half hours per week to encourage greater use of digital channels (online contact) and create additional staff capacity to work on priority, complex tasks and activities.
A former Santander bank in Blackwood will become a commercial space downstairs and two studio flats and a one-bedroom flat upstairs. No objections to the plans, applied for by Fesal Sohail, had been lodged with the council. During a recent public consultation period, supporters of the scheme praised the redevelopment opportunity, adding the new housing would be “perfect” for single people.
Community responds to concerning suicide trends in Merthyr Tydfil
At the start of the pandemic, Gareth Clement felt desperately low and isolated in the house with his young child. When he heard the announcement that he wouldn’t qualify for furlough payments from the government, “it was the nail in the coffin.”
“I felt under so much pressure because I was just trying to cobble together money to pay the bills,” Gareth, 37, told The Valleys Lead. “I already felt pressure trying to care for my son and stay grounded in a world that no one will probably ever experience again. It just all got to be too much. I just wanted a way out.”
Gareth phoned his GP and spoke to his receptionist two weeks prior to an attempt to take his life, telling her he was struggling with his mental health.
“The receptionist told me I wasn’t severe enough – that there was no help,” he said. “I wasn’t signposted. She didn’t tell me to try and call again. There was nothing they could do, is what she said.”
From 2021-2023, Merthyr Tydfil County had the highest suicide rate among all other local authorities in Wales. While the average suicide rate in Wales was 11.7 suicides per 100,000, in Merthyr Tydfil, the rate was 18.4 per 100,000. Blaenau Gwent came next (and had the highest suicide rate subsequently in 2024/25).
The majority of those who end their lives by suicide in Wales are men, with the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys stating that “suicide is the biggest killer for men under 50 in Wales.” The rate of suspected suicides in Wales in people who were reported to be unemployed was 150.8 per 100,000, which was over 12 times higher than in any other employment status group, in 2024/25. 61% of people were reported to have had a mental health condition and 29% were known to mental health services in the 6 months prior to death.
In April’s Scrutiny Committee Report on the Overview of Adults and Children’s Mental Health Services in Merthyr Tydfil, which should go on to provide Scrutiny Members with an overview of Mental Health Servies in Merthyr Tydfil to support strategic understanding for scrutiny and partnership, suicide prevention was briefly noted.
“Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board held a workshop in March 2026 to gain views from all in attendance around the National Suicide Prevention and Self Harm Strategy,” the report stated. “The workshop was key to considering the next steps in delivering this strategy locally.”
The Wales-wide Suicide Prevention and Self-harm Strategy (2025-2035) replaced the previous strategy and aims to reduce the number and rates of suicide deaths that have happened in Wales over recent years. It also aims to establish a pathway to support people who self‑harm and to improve support for those bereaved by suicide.
The strategy has six main aims:
listening and learning: developing a robust evidence base and hearing from people with lived experience
preventing: addressing risk factors
empowering: removing stigma, helping everyone to talk and listen to each other about suicide and self-harm and to help find support when needed
supporting: improving services for people with self-harm and suicidal thoughts
equipping: making sure services which support people at higher risk across Wales identify people in need and work together to provide support
responding: providing timely, compassionate and person-centred support to those affected following suspected suicides
“By working across government departments and with our partners, we’re tackling the root causes while ensuring immediate help is available to those who need it,” then Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing, Sarah Murphy, said of the launch of the strategy.
Looking back, Gareth said he didn’t receive support from local services when he felt at his very lowest.
Gareth phoned once more days before his suicide attempt, and was told the same – that he wasn’t unwell enough, and there was no support.
“That was really tough,” he told The Valleys Lead. “It took a lot of courage to speak out. And then I was just brushed off.”
In the end, Gareth sought the only way out he could see, his own death.
In the aftermath, Gareth found help from a charity – Let’s Talk Men’s Mental Health – who referred him for counselling.
“They helped me to set about rebuilding myself,” he said.
In the last five years, Gareth has shared his story to offer hope for people struggling with thoughts of suicide, and to urge systemic change in supporting people with mental health problems in Merthyr Tydfil and the wider south Wales valleys. As part of sharing his story, he founded the Grumpy Dumpty Foundation, an initiative supporting people to recover and rebuild after crisis.
The project focuses on mental health awareness, addiction recovery support, suicide prevention, and signposting people towards trusted services.
“In the valleys, there is a lot of poverty, and unemployment rates are high,” Gareth said. “This contributes to poor mental health. I also think a lot of men that are quite tough and old school – not wanting to speak about how they feel because from a young age, they’ve been told to ‘suck it up and carry on with life.’”
He’d like to see earlier mental health interventions and education in schools. “To lower suicide rates in the valleys, a new generation of youngsters should be able to be open and honest speaking about how they feel,” he said.
In the short-term, Gareth thinks easier accessibility to mental health support centres would be effective at reducing the number of deaths by suicide. “We need case support and drop-in centres,” he said. “We need people that know how to signpost from these drop-ins. Front facing people – receptionists, barbers, hairdressers, pub owners – could all be trained in mental health and where to direct people to.”
A father disappointed with mental health services in Merthyr Tydfil has also set up a support service he believes to be part of the solution for people struggling with their mental health in Merthyr Tydfil following the tragic death of his son by suicide.
