16 people take their own life every day in the UK, according to the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), a charity that is dedicated to preventing male suicide by offering free and confidential telephone, email and online support for anyone who needs to talk; including families, friends and colleagues who have lost someone to suicide. This October, CALM is organising their first event, The Lost Hours Walk. This night-time walk will see hundreds of people walking either 13 or 20 miles in CALM’s campaign ‘against feeling rubbish, against struggling in silence, against being alone, against living miserably.’
Olivia Empson, Finders International’s Marketing and PR Assistant, will be taking on the 20 mile challenge with her sister, Victoria. After their cousin died by suicide in July 2019, the sisters wanted to do something to honour his memory, so Olivia begun researching. This is where she found CALM and was shocked by the statistics presented on their website that three in every four UK suicides are male and thousands of grieving families and friends are left behind. When she saw the Lost Hours Walk advertised, Olivia showed it to her sister and they immediately signed up.
She said: “Our cousin Alex was funny, kind, intelligent and he always wanted to help someone; his loss is felt very deeply by all our family. My sister and I signed up to the Lost Hours Walk because CALM is such a worthwhile cause, and raising awareness and money for them means someone’s life could be saved. We sincerely appreciate Finders for sponsoring us and we hope by joining this walk, we’ll make our cousin proud.”
Danny Curran, Managing Director of Finders International, said: “When we heard Olivia and her sister were taking part in a 20 mile walk for charity, we knew we had to help. We wish them the very best of luck with this challenge. It is an avoidable loss when someone dies of suicide, and we would urge all of our colleagues, clients, partners, friends and families to contact CALM or the Samaritans if they ever need to talk.’
The Lost Hours Walk will take place on the 26th October from 11pm and participants will walk from the Queen’s House in Greenwich past Big Ben and back again. The money raised will help continue the telephone, webchat and online support services that CALM provides. Olivia will be documenting their walk on the night via Finders International’s social media channels.
If you have been affected by this article, need to talk to someone or know someone who does then please contact the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) for support. Alternatively, you can find help by visiting the Samaritans or you can telephone them, day or night, 365 days a year on 116 123.
If you would like to donate to Olivia and Victoria’s page, please visit their Justgiving page here. All proceeds go to CALM.
To follow updates of Olivia and Victoria’s walk, you can follow Finders International’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Additional resources:
Rehab 4 addiction offers advice to those suffering from alcohol, drug and behavioural addictions, providing a service to rehabilitation centres and outpatient clinics and more.
To find out more about Rehab 4 Addition click here: https://www.rehab4addiction.co.uk
