Cornwall woman takes on 24hr walking challenge after losing family members to suicide
Helen Spacey is trekking from Land's End to Portreath to raise awareness and money
Last updated 30th Apr 2022
A woman from Cornwall is taking on a 24 hour walking challenge after losing two family members to suicide.
Helen Spacey lost both her brother Jonathan to suicide at the age of 26, and also her great niece Lola at the age of just 12, almost 30 years apart.
Last year she and Lola's mum walked 100 miles through the month of May to help raise awareness and smashed their target.
Now they are trekking from Land's End to Portreath in just 24 hours this weekend and set off this morning (30th April).
Helen tells us she wants to continue to raise awareness of the issues around suicide and also suicide prevention.
Helen said: "My brother Jonathan died by suicide 30 years ago at the age of 26. I remember him being full of life and a people's person. He loved spending time with his young siblings, nieces and nephews and he enjoyed his job caring for children with special needs. He loved to entertain people and had worked as a Pontins blue coat but he was particularly passionate about his work as a children's' entertainer and was training to be a magician. To me he was just my big brother and sadly I never knew the man that he became.
"My great niece Lola died almost 2 years ago at the age of 12. Lola's life had barely begun, yet she brought so much love and laughter to her family. Like her great -uncle, she was also a 'people' person who was exceptionally caring toward her young cousins. She was a large part of her local dancing community, demonstrating an exceptional hard working attitude with a fearless and determined streak in whatever she decided to do. Lola was hugely talented with great potential and had a very bright future ahead of her
"Jonathan had his whole future ahead of him whiles Lola's life had barely begun but both came to a very sudden and abrupt ending in the cruellest manner... a moment of anger perhaps or a carefully considered plan? We will never know. We are a family with two tragedies, almost 30 years apart raising the same questions that will never be answered."
Helen is raising money for PAPYRUS, the national charity for the prevention of young suicide.
They charity says suicide is the biggest killer of young people under the age of 35 in the UK, in 2018 over 1800 young people took their own lives.
You can contact them for confidential suicide prevention help and advice via the PAPYRUS HOPELINEUK on 0800 068 4141, text 07860 039967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org
You can find Helen's Just Giving page here.