On the 2nd of May 2019, I lost one of my friends, Bella/Izzy to suicide. Bella was only 18 when she passed.

We went to primary and secondary school together and worked at a local cafe together. Whilst we weren’t best friends and we weren’t part of the same friendship group, she meant a lot to me. She was someone you could never look at in a serious situation and was incredibly sarcastic, to the point where we would often bicker, but I loved her. We had a very light hearted and jokey friendship, so I guess I never truly understood the extent of how she was feeling. She got me into Billie Eilish and Lana Del Rey - both of whom I still love and listen to regularly. She was an extremely talented artist - her song, ‘Transparent’ was my first tattoo - and she had been given an unconditional offer to study song writing in London. She also loved sunsets and being around nature.

In 2022, I raised money to have a tree planted for her in Jubilee Gardens (the place where we both worked), but I’m often left feeling like I want to do more. I’ve been a volunteer for the charity, PAPYRUS for a few years now, and for anyone who hasn’t heard of PAPYRUS, they are a young suicide prevention charity. Suicide is the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, which is a truly harrowing statistic.

PAPYRUS are doing ‘HOPEWALKS’ for the month of May, so I’m hosting a walk locally for her and for anyone suffering/has suffered with mental health problems. For anyone who lives locally, you’re more than welcome to join as well (it will be chill I promise lol) - please message me for more info!

Thank you for reading, and this is a reminder that you are not alone and people do and will care for a lifetime.

HOPELINE number: 0800 068 41 41

£15 can help contribute towards a life saving contact, £20 aids teachers with resources, £200 can cover the cost for one person attending Applied Suicide Skills Training (ASIST).