Kit, Hayley, Barny, Jack, Greg and Hari are fundraising for SANE.

In January this year we very sadly lost our brother, son, uncle and dear friend, Tom. He was taken from us by severe, untreated mental illness and, consequently, we are raising money for the charity SANE. SANE was founded in 1986 by Chief Executive Marjorie Wallace CBE, following the public response to her series of pioneering articles, The Forgotten Illness, in The Times. The charity is devoted to researching and understanding severe illnesses such as schizophrenia (amongst many others), to better grasp the causes, improve treatments and ensure sufferers and their families are better protected by the mental heath system. SANE has its own flagship research centre, The Prince of Wales International Centre for SANE Research in Oxford, where many groundbreaking research studies are run, including research into the cause and treatment of psychosis. It is the only mental health charity to have a research centre of this kind.

SANE also undertakes psychosocial research, drawing on the experiences of individuals and families affected by mental illness. Studies have included a large survey of people who have self-harmed, and a four-year Big Lottery-funded exploration of the personal experiences of those who have attempted suicide and the people closest to them, with a view to helping anyone concerned – friends, colleagues, neighbours, teachers, as well as family members – to recognise and respond to indications that someone may be suicidal.

This work is heartbreakingly relevant to us, Tom’s family. Our hope, and the one thing that drives us forward, is that raising money for this kind of research will actually make a real difference to the lives of other sufferers and their loved ones.

Tom was part of nature, and had a profound love of Dartmoor. So as our first family fundraiser we will be taking on the 15.5 mile trail run across part of Dartmoor, in his memory. We will be running as a family, and those of us who aren’t running will be supporting and camping with us.

Please sponsor us with as much generosity as you can afford - change MUST happen within the mental health system and its approach to severe mental illness, in order to prevent the further waste of beautiful lives. Scientific research, data and evidence is what creates change, so please help fund this.

Thank you, from Tom’s family x