A group aiming to help suicide survivors and their families across Cumbria is asking people and businesses to back the Baton of Hope coming to the county next month.
The countdown is on until the Baton of Hope tours Cumbria on Sunday, September 7.
Lisa Birdsall, whose brother Stephen took his own life, showed personal determination to ensure Cumbria was awarded a chance to host the Baton of Hope 10 years on from his death.
Lisa, who lives and works in Carlisle and is from West Cumbria, her husband Jonny, suicide survivors and families of loved ones who have taken their own lives will form a relay through the county, with more than 80 baton holders, backed by a range of businesses providing funding and logistical support.
Lisa said: “In Cumbria we have some of the worst statistics on suicide in the UK – Cumbria’s overall statistics on suicide are 55 per cent above the national average.
“The former Copeland area has the highest suicide rate per capita in the UK. Carlisle is second. Men account for 75 per cent of suicides. But females outnumber men by more than half in terms of suicide attempts.
“When it comes to talking about suicide we often focus on the despair. We need to turn the message around because the golden thread binding us all together through this is hope. I want us to show what there is out there to help people.
“We are raising the profile of the need to talk. To be preventative we need to be open and honest about mental health discussions.
“There are a lot of suicide charities, but we can be siloed. The Baton of Hope is designed to bring all of us together and make us a stronger force for change. We hope businesses will consider making donations to show their support.”
Team members from Forth, including projects director Graham Cartwright and business liaison manager Ken Johnston, are among those on Cumbria’s Baton of Hope organising committee.
Graham said: “We know how prevalent suicide is in Cumbria and we know how devastating it is for everyone concerned, for all families and friends, and we absolutely know that more needs to be done to help those who are in a dark place and who feel, for whatever reason, that there is no other way out.
“We have been only too glad to give our support to Lisa and Jonny to help make the Baton of Hope coming to Cumbria a turning point for mental health support in the county.”
Baton of Hope Cumbria event partners The Decommissioning Alliance (TDA) and other businesses, organisations, charities and venues who have already given their support to the event include: Forth, Sellafield Ltd, Goodlives, Whitehaven RL, The Beacon, local schools, Whitehaven Harbour Commissioners, Irvings Coaches, Penrith Young Farmers, Carlisle United FC, the New Fire Station (Carlisle), Andy Man’s Club, NHS, First Responders, Carlisle Castle, and English Heritage.
The Baton of Hope charity was founded in 2022 by two dads Mike McCarthy and Steve Phillip who both lost family members to suicide.
Mike wanted to ensure that the legacy of his son Ross’ death would be to change the landscape of mental health services in the UK.
The Baton of Hope is due to set off from Cleator Moor, in the early morning of September 7, starting at Forth’s offices and Sellafield Ltd’s Engineering Centre of Excellence.
It will stop at the Goodlives project at Westlakes Science Park, Moor Row, before moving onto Whitehaven.
It will then travel to Bassenthwaite Lake, Penrith, and onto Carlisle.
For more information, visit www.batonofhopecumbria.co.uk and to donate visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/baton-of-hope-cumbria
