LifeSIGNS (previously known as ‘FirstSigns’ for a while) has been quiet for months – in all honesty we’ve been missing from the web, and we’re very sorry for that. We regret to say that our website was hacked by a malicious criminal who attempted to take control of our site and infect visitors with a spam program.

You may have noticed that web browsers and Google (etc.) did their best to protect visitors from the hacker, and we’re grateful to Google and other search engines for helping us fix our website and then give us the ‘all clear’.

But this hacking hurt us as an organisation. Only in the last month or so have we rallied our volunteers and managed to become active on our social networks and got our website running again. We must thank our volunteers for their patience, trust and hard work.

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So, what’s been happening?

Well, we are ten years old now! That’s right, we’re in our second decade of operation, and wow, hasn’t the SI landscape and online world changed over the years? We like to think that we’ve played our part in helping people talk about self-injury without shame, and we’re certain that we can continue to provide guidance, support and recovery ideas.

But…

But it’s not been easy. As we’re run by the volunteer Trustees / Directors / Supporters, we do indeed keep our running costs low, but the website and the printing we do does cost money. It’s got to a point, after ten years, that we can’t rely on Directors putting money into the organisation every time there is a cash crisis. We have to make what money we can by selling wristbands and key rings before Self-Injury Awareness Day. In general, people only buy them in February…

Right now we need your help. If we’ve ever been there for you, if we’ve ever understood what you’re going through, if we’ve ever been helpful, please consider donating one pound or one dollar today. We’re not asking for £20; we’re not asking for £3 every month – we’re asking for £1 today.

Please donate via this page: www.lifesigns.org.uk/contribute/donate – which has helpful instructions.

It’s funny (not) – but it’s the very young teenagers who will email me to say “I don’t have a debit card / PayPal account, can I send you £1 through the mail?” – isn’t that touching?

Please, if you do have a debit card OR a PayPal account, please send us £1 so that young teenagers can keep their money. Don’t donate if it will hurt you financially – just don’t. But if you can, please donate today. We can’t wait until February.

Another way you can help us is to take part in a fun little exercise to help us consider the best way to structure a *new* website. Yep, while we improve our current website every week, we’re ready to build a brand new one. It won’t cost much money, but it will take hundreds of hours – please help us get it right be completing this online exercise.

Our current website is nearly as old as we are, and it is time we crafted something better for you.

Jules says that it’s our members who use our website and that it’s vital that any new website meets your approval, so we must ask you for your help.

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Now that our current website is healthy and running, our Support Forum is once again open to you and to new people. If you have an account, please sign in soon (there is a link if you have forgotten your password) so that your account doesn’t get deleted in our periodic tidy ups!

If you’d like to join in our stimulating conversations and seek support when you’re urging or struggling, please sign up for an account: www.lifesigns.org.uk/board/

So, we wish you health and happiness as always, and we understand the struggle because we know self-injury from the inside. Stay with us, help us help you.

Wedge
on behalf of LifeSIGNS

www.lifesigns.org.uk

Our second decade

“Breaking the silence around self-injury”

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