My name is George Crossett, from Belfast Northern Ireland and I’m currently in the process of planning a fundraising event for a cause that’s very close to my heart.

The Charity

They are a charity named S.A.M.H.I (Suicide Awareness & Mental Health Initiative) and are based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A few local individuals who volunteered to help those in need after the increase in suicide rates in Northern Ireland. They started a walk in centre and a helpline to help people talk about their issues and suicidal thoughts. Recently a 16 year old girl has committed suicide, multiple of my friends have committed suicide and a 13 year old girl attempted suicide which has in turn inspired me to try and help this charity which are in serious need of support. S.A.M.H.I helpline can be found by phoning 0808 808 8000. Find out more about what the charity are doing by following this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-39481950

My Own Story

Like I said, suicide is something that sits very close to my heart, I lost my father at the age of 14 due to this silent killer. At this moment my life took a turn for the worse. I was 16 at the time and I still hadn't mourned my father’s death. Luckily I had my mother and family to push me into the right direction and I managed to get out of that mess and joined the Army. 6 years on from the loss of my father I was still struggling to cope with the loss, I decided it was time to seek help, which I did. Without that help and support I had things could have been very different. Recently suicide has come back to haunt me and I have lost multiple friends to suicide and even more in my local community and those people, like me, need help and support to guide them back on track. Suicide is a huge issue in the UK with female suicide rates being the highest they've ever been in a decade! With men suicide rates around 3 times as much. Please follow this link for more information https://www.samaritans.org/about-us/our-research/facts-and-figures-about-suicide

My Plan

I will be attempting a fitness challenge, it will be a 24 hour challenge that will consist of a 1.5 mile run whilst carrying a 20 kilogram backpack every hour until the 24 hour's is up totaling 36 miles. The event is to take place on the 10th August and start time will be 1300 at Tesco Extra , The Meadows Centre, Sandhurst. I will also be live feeding the whole event on facebook.

All donations are greatly appreciated and will no doubt save lives.