We first came to know about Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SoBS) following the death of our son David to suicide in October 2004. Before this, we had never heard of SoBS, although I am a Registered Nurse. David was a fun loving guy and especially close to his younger brother Mark. We did not have a clue that he was depressed, it came as such a shock to us all. No signs or indications that he was feeling so desperate and alone. Our GP put us in touch with the nearest group to us, which was a new group, opened in Leamington Spa so we attended quite soon. A lovely lady named Sylvia welcomed us and she put us at ease. The support groups were the one place that we felt we could talk freely, with confidence, as everyone there had been bereaved by suicide and truly understood what we were going through. Unfortunately, Sylvia became ill and could not continue with the group so after a little while Dave and I decided to take it over. We have seen many bereaved people come and go over the years and I hope we have helped them to come to terms with their loss as the group did for us. I hope that this 30-year fundraising event not only raises money, so the charity can continue with its good work, but also raises awareness of the need for us to talk about mental health. Following a suicide death, research shows that people who are affected become vulnerable themselves and need to talk about their feelings. That is why we need to ensure there are groups in every city in the UK, accessible to all who want and need support.
Contact the Leamington Group here
Read More about the Leamington Group here
Our Son David.
Since losing our son Jonathan to suicide in May 2011, we have done quite a lot of fundraising. We have held boot sales, stalls at fetes, skydives and many, many raffles.
In 2005 we tragically lost Fee – beloved wife and mother, when she took her own life. The shock and loss was enormous and it wasn’t until 2009 when we discovered Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide. This charity has helped all three of us, in different ways, in coming to terms with such a painful loss. It is a loss that you never get over, but their involvement in our lives has helped us to move on but not forget.