Iceland has partnered with charitable foundation Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) to create an installation aimed at combating youth suicide.

Photo: David Parry/PA Media Assignments

The campaign involves an installation of 6,929 birthday balloons in Westfield, London, marking the missed birthdays of young people between 15 to 24 lost to suicide.

Alongside the art display, the frozen food retailer has also supported the charity with a donation of £350,000, adding to an initial £300,000 it pledged earlier this year to support the funding of CALM’s headline.

The funding will be directed to the suicide prevention charity’s tailored guides to support conversations with young people, such as supporting a person in a mental health crisis.

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Iceland group chief executive and trustee of Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation Tarsem Dhaliwal said: “Suicide amongst young people is a worsening epidemic in the UK and we need to get as many people as possible aware and involved to help combat it, which is what we hope to achieve with the poignant Missed Birthdays installation.

“We know that it can be a difficult topic to discuss but the most effective way to stop these preventable deaths it is to be proactive. CALM, with the support of Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation, is offering trusted adults invaluable support to help start the conversation and we’re glad to be a part of making that possible.”

CALM CEO Simon Gunning added: “Parents worry mentioning the ‘S’ word puts the thought in their loved ones’ minds. We know from our extensive work in the area that the opposite is true.

“Talking about suicide with young people in the right way and simply saying that word, whether they’re doing fine or whether they’re at crisis point, is clinically proven to prevent suicide.”