Cumbrian dad walking 500 miles to raise awareness about suicide prevention charity reaches half-way point
Andy Airey is part of 'Three Dads Walking' who've raised over £1 million for Papyrus since 2021
Their latest walking challenge started in Stirling and finishes in Norwich City Centre on May 11th.
"It's just covering the distance. Getting up day after day and covering the miles."
Andy Airey lost his daughter Sophie to suicide in 2018: "You can't help but think about our girls because it's obviously their decision that's sent us on this weird trajectory where we find ourselves walking on the river banks in Yorkshire.
"The critical thing though is to think about them. It's like we are carrying them with us. What we have to do though is use that memory to create a legacy which will help save other families coming down the same road as us.
"Now we've just got to make sure we get to Norwich on May 11th."
Norfolk's Tim Owen makes up part of the trio too, having lost his daughter Emily in 2020.
He explained why they're fundraising for Papyrus, and what else they've been up to: "This charity provides suicide prevention training in the workplace and communities. It all helps to break down the stigma when it comes to the topic, itself."
"We've had a series of roundtables with the Department for Education and other experts. They have created a draft of a new RSHE curriculum about how we can safely and responsibly put suicide prevention into schools and make it age appropriate."
The campaign's journey so far:
-In 2021, 'The 3 Dads' walked 300 miles from Penrith, via Manchester to West Norfolk.
-In 2022, the group walked 600 miles over 30 days, from Belfast to Westminster.
-In March 2023, Parliament debated whether to make suicide prevention a compulsory part of the school curriculum- after a petition they put together got 150,000 signatures.
-In April 2023, the '3 Dads' met with the Prime Minister and Education Secretary (Gillian Keegan) and urged them to support their campaign to get suicide prevention on the school curriculum.