Suicide Awareness Day

today is 10th of September and it's Suicide Prevention awareness day I'm joined today by lyette and summer Harvey and they've got a story to tell they are rely residents and we're here today to have a little chat about it and to see what they're doing in terms of as a family to bring Kai their son's me son and brother I should say his memory and keep his memory going so yeah we lost Kai in February 20120 yeah um 17 years old um all we had his struggles right from being from being little wasn't it he was a very unique character shall we say um never Wildest Dreams s it would come to this never ever he was very much the opposite he was very anti-suicide and and kind of very much against it um so obviously I him to make the decision he did he must have been so so desperate did take to the doctors followed the usual protocol had him referred to different Services um he didn't find any of them very helpful he felt he wasn't listen him very much I think the hardest one of the hardest things to accept was on the night he made that decision he was in a good mood he left the house he was he was happy he was making jokes about his eyon in his clothes cuz the tumble dryer was broken I couldn't get his jeans dry um so I actually felt he's a young lad you worry about him about on a weekend but on that night I felt actually like B relief like he was going out in a good mood he was just going to meet friends and and then obviously started getting messages from his friends later in the night saying something's not quite right still did not for a second imagine just thought he's obviously having a bit of one of his down moments or whatever went and picked him up he asked for a bacon sandwich made him a bacon sandwich and then went to give him the sandwich and that's when I found him yeah it was well it was different for me wasn't it CU I wasn't in the country at the time I was um at a kickboxing competition my dad in Greece so I didn't really experience it the way everyone else did I was a bit more like like kept behind it all okay um but yeah I just think um in a way I'm kind of happy it went about the way it did because um like being in the situation at the hospital I see how what happened at the house affected everyone else so badly and obviously I'm glad that I wasn't there to kind of experience it baby brother was it is that your baby brother or you the you the youngest I'm the youngest one of four girls and obviously there was Kai so we're four years on now pain doesn't get any easier I know that but in terms of what you and your sisters and your mom and your dad are trying to do and trying to to create a legacy for him to get the message out to other young people people in same position is that what you're trying to do yeah I just think it needs to be more like spoken about because it isn't very like especially for young people I just think it isn't like recognized as enough as it should be um because it's a lot more common than how it was um and I just think everyone should recognize it a bit more what sort of where are you going to go with all of this with your mom and your your sisters and trying to remember Kai what is it that you're planning the isn't it the 20th of September we are doing a um memory walk called Kai's memory mile it's roughly about 3 miles starting in BR ley's mindfulness garden and then up through the Heritage Trail through slit Mill down hugley Road and then back into the mindfulness G we'll have some subs volunteers on hand on the day should anybody want to have a chat or explain what Subs is so Subs is a volunteer run charity for emotional and physical support it's not a counseling service it's um support service anybody of the volunteers who are volunteer for SS have all suffered a bement by Suicide so we're all in the same horrible gang so to speak um so everybody gets it every you can speak freely without judgment they've been a huge support from myself and others um hence why I myself trained to be I was going to say volunteer I am yes I have my own group along side a gentleman called Steve in kic so we are in the new kic branch which sounds B crazy to say is going really well cuz obviously we would wish it wasn't and we didn't have any members but it's a it's good to know that people know where are they people are beginning to reach out and and feel like they're not on their own cuz I think at times because there's such a taboo around Suicide People are kind of frightened to to speak about it or I even find with myself you can kind of say or that people are uncomfortable to speak about how K died um I'm not he was ill and that that that's just the way it is like any other illness whether it be physical or mental um so yeah just we just want to bring people together who even if you haven't necessarily lost someone by Suicide but you or somebody around you is struggling with the mental health um or you just feel like you yourself need a little bit of support um everybody's welcome everybody can come along and join in it will give as much of support as we can on the day um whether it just be a chat whether it's just joining in with the walk how ever you feel you need that support hopefully we can offer some on the day and if we reach even just one person absolutely prevents going through what we all them this is the inaugural it's the very first one what's after that what are you planning going forward so this will be an annual event um I do plan um I have a friend in Northeast who actually I got the idea from she's been doing this I think for about 11 years now because I know that Kai was really popular got lots of friends obviously went to the local heart school did she just finished so um we all want to get behind you L it's as simple as that so I know the people of roule particularly I know that you've started all your social media campaign today on this day because of what it is um if there's anything at all that anybody needs to reach out you can they do that via social media with abely all SS yeah if anybody feels the need support um with the loss of a suicide um please reach out to SS we have groups in many different areas but Lally we have a fantastic group um very helpful so please reach out to them as well yeah brilliant thank you very much thank you