Keep Talking: Join Hartlepool Mail campaign to help more people access mental health support

Angela Arnold, Beverley Kingsley, Trevor Sherwood, Dawn Thorpe, Sammie Hodgman, Kristina Thorpe and Keith Embleton have supported the Hartlepool Mail Keep Talking campaign.

The Hartlepool Mail is launching a new campaign to encourage people to speak up about their mental health.

It will also highlight the work of people and organisations in the town providing mental health support.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the North East has the highest suicide rate in England and Wales.

LilyAnne's cards signposting people to mental health services have been scanned over 12,000 times in a year. Pictured: Keith Embleton, Angela Arnold, Trevor Sherwood and Sammie Hodgman from LillyAnne's.

In Hartlepool, 14.1 deaths per 100,000 people are attributed to suicide.

This is more than a third higher than the England average of 10.5 deaths per 100,000 people.

Volunteers in the town are already working hard to provide support and signpost people to relevant services in an effort to save lives and change the statistics.

The Mail will publicise their efforts over the coming week in the hope that it will encourage more people to Keep Talking.

Dawn Thorpe, Beverley Kingsley and Kristina Thorpe have been raising money for charity and raising awareness for mental health.

Trevor Sherwood, project development manager at project partner LilyAnne’s coffee shop, has told the Mail he had not realised the scale of Hartlepool’s mental health issues until LilyAnne’s started distributing special cards with QR codes.

The cards, which carry details about local mental health services, have been scanned over 12,000 times in a year.

Trevor said: "When we set about doing this, we didn’t realise the scale of the epidemic of mental health. We didn’t realise how many people were struggling with their mental health.”

He added: "If we can just create that awareness, that help and support is available locally in Hartlepool, I think we’ve done the best we can to raise awareness about supporting services.”

Dawn Thorpe and Beverley Kingsley both lost their sons to suicide.

Danny Thorpe tragically took his own life aged just 31 in 2020. His family and friends founded Danny’s Legacy to raise money for charity and awareness tor mental health.

"I wish there was a way that we could let anybody know who was thinking along those lines, there’s got to be another way. There is another way,” said Dawn.

"Because the devastation that’s left behind is unbearable.”

Danny Thorpe’s sister, Kristina Thorpe, said: "The biggest problem for people is they need to make that first step of talking to someone. Once they start talking, it’s easy to take that next step of keeping on talking. Getting the right help.”

Keep Talking aims to:

Increase the awareness of support available to people currently struggling with their mental health – as well as for people bereaved by suicide;
Promote the work of people and groups across Hartlepool who are raising awareness for mental health.

Beverley, who lost her son Daniel Walker to suicide in 2022, said: "I think myself, Dawn and her family are on that page to be proactive in getting more awareness out there for those who are suffering.

"The Mail has played a lovely part in it because you have brought people together yourselves.

"We do need it to keep it alive with what's out there and keep talking about it and signposting support systems."

She added: "It's our Mail, it's our resource for community and it's what gets the word out there. That's brilliant that you're doing this campaign."