Charity champions set to walk 26 miles on CHRISTMAS DAY to support those struggling with mental health

Two Hartlepool charity champions are gearing up to walk 26 miles on Christmas Day to raise money to help those struggling with their mental health.
By Sophie Brownson
Published 25th Dec 2019, 08:00 BST
Updated 25th Dec 2019, 08:00 BST
Brian Baines (right) and friend Daryl Parkinson will walk from Lost Souls gym at the Headland all the way to the top of Roseberry Topping on Christmas Day to raise money and awareness of mental health issues.Brian Baines (right) and friend Daryl Parkinson will walk from Lost Souls gym at the Headland all the way to the top of Roseberry Topping on Christmas Day to raise money and awareness of mental health issues.
Brian Baines (right) and friend Daryl Parkinson will walk from Lost Souls gym at the Headland all the way to the top of Roseberry Topping on Christmas Day to raise money and awareness of mental health issues.

Brian Leslie Baines, 50, and Daryl Parkinson, 28, will walk from the Lab Gym at the Headland all the way to the top of Roseberry Topping on Christmas Day in an effort to raise funds and awareness of mental health issues.

The dad from Owton Manor, will be supporting Lab Gym owner Ste Cotson’s Lost Souls charity which raises funds and profile of mental health.

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Brian hopes to raise £5,000 to set up a drop in hub for people in crisis with their mental health at the gym.

Brian Baines (right) and friend Daryl Parkinson are taking on a charity challenge to raise money and awareness of mental health issues.Brian Baines (right) and friend Daryl Parkinson are taking on a charity challenge to raise money and awareness of mental health issues.
Brian Baines (right) and friend Daryl Parkinson are taking on a charity challenge to raise money and awareness of mental health issues.

Lab Gym owner Ste Cotson has launched Lost Souls Asylum clothing brand to raise funds and profile of mental health.

A Just Giving Page for the effort has already raised more than £400.

Brian, 50, said: “I just thought it was a really inspirational thing that the organisation is trying to do.

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“Mental health is a huge issue and this charity is trying to take away the stigma around it.

“I have known some men in Hartlepool who have taken their own lives and I think that some men affected by mental health issues may feel embarrassed about struggling and may not want to go to the doctors.”

But this isn’t the first time Brian has taken on a major challenge for charity.

He walked an incredible 120 miles from Maryport in Cumbria to Hartlepool, in just three days in 2011, to raise funds for the Jo and Mya Memorial Fund.

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Brian, who is an outreach worker at Belle Vue Sports Community & Youth Centre, continued: “The reason why I’m doing the walk on Christmas Day because it can be the loneliest time of year for people going through mental health issues or a mental health crisis.

“It’s a time where you are expected to be happy but for people with mental health issues or other issues it’s not like that.

“If readers know someone going through issues on Christmas Day, give them a phone call or speak to them.”

Related topics:Mental HealthHartlepool