As most of my friends on here know, I lost my brother Pete to suicide 2 years ago this coming April 9th. This was such a sad and hard thing for all of us, his friends and family, to go through. Since Pete’s death I have worked closely with local NHS trusts to change policies and procedures in a bid to try and learn from what happened. Small things could have made a big difference and I don’t want that knowledge to be wasted.

Now I want to try and change things for those left behind.

After Pete died we all pulled together as much as possible to try and cope but we were all grieving the same person in different ways - there is no respite. I needed somewhere to go and vent my emotions, ask the questions, that really, would upset those around me if I asked and to see if what I was feeling was ‘normal‘. There is a fear of asking in case you cause upset. The questions a person may have around grief are different depending on the person and the circumstances of the death. There are support groups for so many types of grief but the very nature of suicide means that this is still very taboo. Even with all the awareness going on, which is great, the aftermath is still ignored!

What is very apparent is that the North East of England, specifically around Teesside and North Yorkshire, have no support groups for those who have lost a loved one through suicide or been impacted by suicide. In the year that Pete died there were 4,575 deaths by suicide in the UK according to a government stats table I have found, 244 in our region. The nearest support group for anybody who is connected to these 244 people is either Newcastle, York or Wakefield. When you are grief stricken, lost or just totally out of your depth, this is too far.

One paper I have read has suggested that for every individual who dies through suicide at least 6 people are directly impacted. 1,464 people minimum in this region per year.... that’s too many with nowhere to go.

Here are some more frightening stats.... people who have lost through suicide are 1.6 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts, 2.9 times more likely to have a plan for suicide, and 3.7 times more likely to have made a suicide attempt themselves.

I want to change this. I am not suggesting I can help all these people but I want to try and offer something that right now is not available. I want to set up a support group locally. I have the premises, I have the backing of the local authorities and I have the time to try and facilitate a support group. I just don’t have the money.... this is where I come cap in hand to you. I need £500 to get this off the ground. This should keep the group running for 12 months. Once I prove it is of benefit I think I can get funding formally to keep it going and start more groups so that more people can support one another. If you have even a spare £1 it would really help.