Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In ***November***  2021 I will be running the Barcelona marathon to raise awareness of mental illness. I plan to do this by supporting The Lions Barber Collective in honour of my friend and cousin, James Birch.

James was an incredible person. Being the same age and having similar hobbies such as football, James and I spent a lot of time together growing up. James had the ability to light up a room with his cheekiness and charisma. Our family adored James and he surrounded himself with an amazing group of friends that worshipped him. On the surface, everything was normal.

In September 2015, James took his own life at the age of 19.

The void left behind by James was immense. Our family and James’ friends have united to raise awareness of the stigma surrounding talking about mental health and avoid this happening to anyone else. Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the country. The traditional approach of telling men to ‘man up’ has created a society where men feel uncomfortable and unwilling to talk about their mental health. Talking about our mental health and providing vital funding for mental health support networks and charities are incredible ways we can help rid society of its ‘man up’ attitude and break the stigma. Its okay to not be okay.

The Lions Barber Collective are an international group of barbers who have been trained to recognise symptoms of mental illness in clients and signpost them to the relevant support services. The barbers aren’t trained to provide counselling but to talk; ask the right questions, listen and recognise symptoms of depression. Not everyone will want to see a councillor, but everyone needs their hair cut. TLBC provide crucial information of support networks and websites that could just save someone’s life. A problem shared is a problem halved.

Thank you for reading my story. Please donate if you can.

Check TLBC's Ted talk for more information: https://youtu.be/jjAQTH0aZJA

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.