Derbyshire charities join new umbrella support group launched after emotionally charged suicide prevention event
“It’s tough for charities out there right now so they are the organisations we really want to support.”
Leaders of an emotionally charged event which brought together thousands of Derby people bereaved through suicide have launched a trailblazing new charity support group.
Linking Hope is a new umbrella group aimed at bringing together the wide range of charities and organisations in the area which support people with their mental health or who have been bereaved through the suicide of loved ones.
Born from the back of last year’s powerful ‘Baton of Hope’ tour of Derby – the UK’s largest suicide prevention campaign which saw thousands descend on the city and around 100 carry the ceremonial ‘baton’ – Linking Hope supports charities so they can reach as many as possible in our area who are struggling with poor mental health.
The aim of the group is not to replace any services already offered through existing charities, but to provide support through networking, free advice and coaching on a range of topics including social media, suicide prevention training and how to access grants.
Linking Hope also connects charities with businesses looking for a cause to support their own Corporate Social Responsibility commitments.
The group has been co-founded by a committee including Derby women Claire Goring and Leni Robson, who were part of the team which brought the Baton of Hope to the city last year to raise awareness of suicide after suffering the loss of loved ones who took their own lives.
Claire, whose father Rob took his own life in 2001 shortly before she turned 21, said: “I lost my dad to suicide 25 years ago now when I was about to finish university. He’d been struggling with his mental health through chronic pain. He was on redeployment from work. He felt completely useless. He was really struggling.
“I was very close to him – he was my best friend, the one who took me to the pub on a Friday night. When he died it was such a shock to me and my mum and at the time, suicide wasn’t really talked about. Friends were great but there was nothing like the support there is now.
“Organising the Baton of Hope last year made me realise several things. One, that I hadn’t really properly grieved. And secondly, that there are so many organisations out there and what we needed wasn’t just another charity but a group that would help all of them get the help they need. It’s tough for charities out there right now so they are the organisations we really want to support.
“Some of them might offer community singing, or walking, or other activities. They are all playing a really important role in trying to support so many in our communities who are struggling with poor mental health, loneliness, issues with debt, illness and pain – a whole raft of problems. We just want to help them offer the best service they can.”
Leni Robson, who has lost five people close to her to suicide – including the “light of her life”, her best friend James, said: “We had a number of charities come and take part in the Baton of Hope day and we saw they work really well but they don’t necessarily know what the other ones are doing. We wanted to help them prevent them spending their really hard-earned money on duplicating things – and also give them somewhere where they knew where to signpost people if it wasn’t their area of expertise. We decided to create something that would bring them all together.”
One of the charity leaders who has benefited from the support of the group is Jo Garvey of West Hallam, who set up the Will Garvey Trust Foundation in memory of her son who took his own life ten years ago while at university.
She said: “The Linking Hope group is a fabulous organisation. It’s a great community of like-minded people whose simple aim and vision is to make people’s lives better and by coming together we’re sharing resources, we’re sharing ideas, we’re sharing experiences, we’re sharing what we’ve learned so that we can help other people learn as well.
“We need to make the connection between admitting, accepting, acknowledging that we need help and being able to access the help and support and I think this network, Linking Hope, is providing that.”
Linking Hope meets every quarter at Shakespeare House on Kedleston Road, Derby. It is free for any charity or organisation working in mental health to attend, or businesses which want to help. To find out check social media or contact the group on [email protected]