A West Cumbrian family has set up a foundation in memory of their teenage daughter.
The Ellie Blair Foundation aims to help raise awareness and tackle the stigma around suicide, while also raising vital funds for local mental health charities.
It is being led by Ellie’s dad Michael, 43, and her brother Jayden, 18, of Whitehaven, and supported by Ellie’s wider family.
Ellie was 19 when she took her own life in June 2024.
Michael said Ellie had a smile that could light up any room and that she was a bubbly, kind and caring person.
He said: “Ellie down to a tee was fun, always laughing, always smiling and she always made time for people.
“We miss that smile of hers and that laugh, she always had something to say and she really did care about her friends and family and she loved animals, that was really important to her.
“She was quiet and shy growing up, but when she started working at McDonald’s, it became the making of her and she grew in confidence and came out of her shell.
“She made loads of friends and went for loads of nights out and days out with them.”
Michael said his family’s world came crashing down when Ellie died.
He added: “We all struggle in different ways with it. With me I was a closed book for a really long time about it. But I have lots of help and support around me and my family and girlfriend are brilliant.
“But it’s a process and she’s a massive miss in our lives and I know what has happened and that she’s gone. But there are times where you’ll think she’s just at work or I’ll get a message and I’ll think, that might be Ellie.
“We’re all still broken into a million bits inside, but we’re trying our best, it’s a long process and we’re taking it a day at a time.”
Michael said the idea to set up the foundation came from a desire to help other people.
The family has set up a Facebook page for the foundation and has also created a video to share Ellie’s story.
Michael said: “Jayden has been saying for a while about setting up a foundation in Ellie’s name, so we thought after putting the video out, now was the time to announce it.
“The goal through it all is to get the message out there about mental health awareness and even if it just helps one person, it’s one person still alive and one family not going through what we’re going through.
“If it can help more than one, then that’s even better, that’s our goal.
“We want to start changing the numbers and stats in Cumbria and we’re hoping that by doing this we can turn those numbers around and make them go in the opposite direction.
“The way we see it, we have two options, either stay quiet and go through life grieving over Ellie, or grieve over Ellie and miss her, but also do something in her name to keep her memory alive and help people too.”
Michael said the foundation is planning to host two sponsored walks this year to help raise money for Every Life Matters and Time to Share Bereavement.
He added that Every Life Matters had provided counselling to family and some of Ellie’s friends that helped them immensely.
The first walk will take place on May 31 starting at 1pm at Moo Hall at Blue Dial Farm, Allonby, while the second walk’s details are still being finalised, but will take place in July.
The May walk will head towards Maryport Aquarium, where the group will stop for a rest before returning to Moo Hall. Walkers are welcome to join along the route or take on a smaller section of the walk.
People are welcome to join the walk but should get in touch with the Ellie Blair Foundation Facebook page first to allow carparking to be properly arranged.
Michael said: “We’d like to make the walks an annual event. We decided that last year when we did our first walk and it went down really well and we had plenty of support.
“We are also trying to think of new ideas and other things we can do between the walks to keep the momentum going.
“But we’ve had a great deal of help for the walks from people who don’t want any praise or recognition for it.
“They’re just doing it for the right reasons to help us get the message out there, they’ve been brilliant and they know who they are.”
Michael said that Ellie’s family also want the foundation to help people speak more openly about mental health and suicide, without fear or stigma attached.
He added: “Mental health can affect anybody and if we can get the message out there and help people openly talk about suicide, then it might just make someone think, I actually haven’t been feeling good in myself and I do need help.
“It’s a hard subject to talk about and I know it’s not easy, but the more people who talk about it, the better.
“By talking about it, you could save someone’s life, which is the most important thing.”
Michael said that Ellie’s family would also like to thank the ambulance and air ambulance crews that attended and supported them the day Ellie died.
Donation links for this year’s sponsored walks will be ready soon. Please check back here in the coming days if you’d like to donate.
If you’d like to support the foundation in other ways, you can get in touch with the Ellie Blair Foundation via social media here.
Help and support is always available. If you need urgent help, call Samaritans on 116 123.
More ways to get urgent help locally and nationally can also be found here.
Every Life Matters also offers online advice and ways to get help here.
- Walk-in mental health support is also available in Whitehaven at Hope Haven on King Street. The centre is open from 9.30am until midnight Monday to Friday and from 4pm until midnight on weekends.
