Why the Baton of Hope means so much to me.
My name is Claire and I am the Project Lead for the Baton of Hope in Derby and Derbyshire. I was 3 weeks away from my 21st birthday and about to finish my degree when my Dad lost his battle and took his own life. This was the man who had supported me through all of my university work, always been there when I needed him and had been preparing for my 21st in the weeks leading up to his death. He was my hero and my best friend.
My world fell apart the day he left us and at that time, all those years ago, suicide was not spoken about and I didn’t know how big an issue it was. Last year, I came across the Baton of Hope and applied to carry the Baton in Birmingham. It was the most amazing day – whilst full of emotion and feelings of loss – meeting the people who had also lost someone to suicide felt like a club – one we wish we weren’t a part of but one we need all the same. Those people were an inspiration to me – their strength and resilience and the amount of them who had gone on to set up their own charities and suicide prevention initiatives blew my mind. My drive to bring the baton to Derby was ignited. I need to do this for my Dad, my family and for the people of Derby so no-one else has to suffer the loss of a loved one to suicide.
When you lose someone to suicide you feel lost and helpless, what went wrong and why didn’t you notice? How were you not able to stop it? Being involved in the Baton of Hope tour in 2023 showed me that I could now make a difference and that’s what bringing the Baton to Derby is about – not just a day but about a lasting legacy – having an impact on people’s lives, engaging local businesses to be the leaders in mental health and suicide awareness and hopefully helping some people to realise they can stay and be heard.
What I have learnt through leading this project with my amazing team - Luke, Simon, Steve, Hannah, James and Becky - is that there are so many resources and people who want to support improving mental health and allowing those who struggle to talk to access the support they need and not to feel alone.
This is something I feel very strongly about, when I lost my Dad (nearly 24 years ago) suicide was rarely even spoken about, it had a stigma attached to it that meant discussing it was hard. I have a passion and drove inside me that wants to make this everything it could be and more – and to make my Dad proud!
