Julie Borlant
Kilimanjaro for Beyond-Julie,Jeremy,Richard,Orla,Aileen,Ryan,Hayley, Steve
Fundraising for Beyond
Story
Suicide is the biggest killer of under 35's in the UK which is shocking as this equates to over 4 deaths a day by suicide.During the pandemic, the number of young people referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) increased by 134%.
Beyond, a small mental health charity that exists to improve the mental health of young people , was set up by Jonny Benjamin MBE, who at the age of 20 was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. This made Jonny want to end his life, but fortunately, a stranger talked him out of it. A few years later, Jonny launched a social media campaign called "Find Mike" to search for this stranger. Within just two weeks Jonny found the man who had saved his life, Neil Laybourn. Their story is told in the Channel 4 documentary: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-stranger-on-the-bridge . From this, Beyond was created as Jonny feels strongly that if he had received the support when he was young he would have not found himself in that terrifying situation.
Myself and a fantastic team of 15 are taking on the massive challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, the highest free standing mountain in the world. We will be trekking over 7 days, reaching an altitude of 5895m, to raise money for Beyond. Every penny raised will directly fund critical mental health provision for young people throughout the UK. CAMHS is completely overwhelmed together with schools and teachers who literally can't keep up with the support needed for young people. Beyond funds a variety of initiatives for children in schools and provides them with interim funding that will best support their needs eg mental health training for 6th formers, counselling for young primary school children in crisis or well being programmes for vulnerable teens.
I'm supporting Beyond as it is a charity very close to my heart having lost my sister Jenny who sadly took her own life at the age of 40. Thank you so much supporting myself and my team and helping us give young people a brighter future.
Julie,Jeremy,Richard,Orla,Aileen,Ryan,Hayley,Steve