Lou met with three fathers who have lost their daughters to suicide while they completed a 300-mile walk to raise funds and awareness for PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide.
Lou met the three dads – Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen – at his former stomping ground, Old Trafford, last month.
He was so moved by their undertaking that he decided to donate £10,001 to their cause – one better than James Bond himself, Daniel Craig – who donated £10,000!
Lou said: “It was a pleasure to meet @3dadswalking, who were walking to encourage conversation about suicide prevention. As a suicide-bereaved parent myself, it’s so important to talk.”
Lou said: “It was a pleasure to meet @3dadswalking, who were walking to encourage conversation about suicide prevention. As a suicide-bereaved parent myself, it’s so important to talk.”
Andy Airey from Cumbria, Mike Palmer from Greater Manchester and Tim Owen from Norfolk have now completed their journey and raised more than £500,000. They finished their 15-day challenge in the village of Shouldham in Norfolk, home to Tim, who lost his 19-year-old daughter Emily to suicide in March 2020.
Lou said: “It was a pleasure to meet @3dadswalking, who were walking to encourage conversation about suicide prevention. As a suicide-bereaved parent myself, it’s so important to talk.”
Lou said: “It was a pleasure to meet @3dadswalking, who were walking to encourage conversation about suicide prevention. As a suicide-bereaved parent myself, it’s so important to talk.”
Andy Airey from Cumbria, Mike Palmer from Greater Manchester and Tim Owen from Norfolk have now completed their journey and raised more than £500,000. They finished their 15-day challenge in the village of Shouldham in Norfolk, home to Tim, who lost his 19-year-old daughter Emily to suicide in March 2020.
Mike Palmer, who lost his 17-year-old daughter Beth to suicide in March 2020, said: “Meeting Lou is an absolute honour and we know how brave he is to come out here, stand in front of a camera and raise awareness. We have met so many parents along the way that have been bereaved and Lou is one of them. It is incredibly brave. There is a stigma attached to suicide: pre suicide and post suicide. If people talk more then I think we can prevent a lot of deaths.”
The dads embarked on the walk to raise awareness of the work of Papyrus so that tragic losses of life can be prevented in the future.The dads want to spare other families from the agony of losing a child.
“As dads we have three different stories to tell but each has the same tragic ending, the devastating loss of a daughter to suicide.
“We want to bring something positive out of the devastation and help PAPYRUS to continue giving hope to young people who are struggling with life,” said Andy, whose 29-year-old daughter Sophie took her own life in 2018.
Ged Flynn, Chief Executive of PAPYRUS, says the walk has been a life-saver:
“The three dads epitomise what our charity is all about, turning the tragedy of young suicide into hope.
“Many young suicides are preventable. As the dads end their walk, may the stories of those touched by young suicide continue to enable more life-saving conversations.
“It is remarkable that these proud fathers, who are each trying to deal with their own grief in their own way, have found such a positive path forward together,” said Ged.
The dads’ website: https://www.3dadswalking.uk/ contains moving tributes to their daughters, details of the route, a list of generous supporters and how to donate via their JustGiving page.
For practical, confidential suicide prevention help and advice please contact PAPYRUS HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org
Suicide is the biggest killer of young people in the UK. PAPYRUS aims to reduce the number of young people who take their own lives by breaking down the stigma around suicide and equipping people with the skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour.
HOPELINEUK is the charity’s confidential helpline service providing practical advice and support to young people with thoughts of suicide and anyone concerned about a young person who may have thoughts of suicide.
HOPELINEUK is staffed by trained professionals, offering a telephone, text and email service.
For practical, confidential suicide prevention help and advice please contact PAPYRUS HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org
Film courtesy of MUTV
