Marina O’Brien works for Second Step, a southwest-based mental health charity, managing the Hope Project, a suicide prevention project for middle-aged men, alongside the Beside Project Suicide Bereavement Service, both funded by the NHS. She has over 25 years’ experience in the voluntary and statutory sectors working in substance misuse & addiction, children’s services, domestic violence, mental health, and the criminal justice system. She has collaborated with Bristol University and ARC West researchers, co-authoring two research papers evaluating the Hope Project. Hope: supporting men at risk of suicide in the Bristol area - ARC West (nihr.ac.uk)

Marina has vast experience in project management and delivery, research skills and evaluating services and is passionate about service user involvement and coproduction. Prior to working in mental health, she was a Community Artist and is passionate about the role of creativity and the arts in communities for improving mental health.