Young woman who lost brother to suicide creates online tool to prevent others seeing harmful material

Video report by ITV News Meridian's Chlöe Oliver

A young woman from Fareham, whose brother died from suicide, has created an online tool in the hope it will prevent other young people accessing harmful content on the internet.

Alice Hendy's brother Josh died from suicide in November last year at the age of 21.

Alice and her brother Josh on holiday

She has now decided to create a tool called R;pple Suicide Prevention in his memory and has created a team to spearhead suicide prevention through an online monitoring tool.

What the 'R;pple pop up' will look like on a vulnerable user's screen

It works by showing internet users an immediate, bright display on their device when they've been flagged as searching for content relating to self-harm or suicide.

Anyone feeling despair and researching harmful content will be urged to seek the mental health support they deserve and need in a way that works best for them.

Harrison and Izzy De George

Alice met Izzy de George from Southampton through a bereavement group as Izzy lost her brother Harrison in December last year.

Izzy is supporting Alice's work as well as campaigning for better mental health support at universities.

Alice has worked in cyber security for many years and so has a wide knowledge of technology. She is now appealing to tech giants such as Google to make her technology a reality.

So far she has had a positive response, including the signing of numerous charity and business partners including CALM, Jacobs One Million Lives and Grassroots StayAlive.

  • Roxane Caplan from Young Minds

What to do if you, or someone you know, is having suicidal thoughts

  • Phone a helpline:

Samaritans – for everyoneCall 116 123Email jo@samaritans.org

Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM)Call 0800 58 58 58 – 5pm to midnight every dayVisit the webchat page

Papyrus – for people under 35Call 0800 068 41 41 – 9am to midnight every dayText 07860 039967Email pat@papyrus-uk.org

Childline – for children and young people under 19Call 0800 1111 – the number will not show up on your phone bill

SOS Suicide of Silence – for everyoneCall 0300 1020 505 – 8am to midnight every dayEmail support@sossilenceofsuicide.org

  • Text a helpline:

Shout Crisis Text Line – for everyone

Text “SHOUT” to 85258

YoungMinds Crisis Messenger – for people under 19

Text “YM” to 85258

  • If your life is in danger, call 999

Tips for coping right now

  • try not to think about the future and just focus on getting through today

  • stay away from drugs and alcohol

  • get yourself to a safe place, like a friend's house

  • be around other people

  • do something you usually enjoy, such as spending time with a pet