Bereaved Mum "honoured" to be carrying suicide prevention baton through Medway
The Baton of Hope is being carried by those affected by suicide from Blackpool to London, and is coming through Kent and Medway today
A Mum from Gravesend whose son took his own life at fifteen tells Greatest Hits and Hits Radio she's "honoured" to be carrying an Olympic-Torch style baton in his memory.
The Baton of Hope is the world's first physical symbol of mental wellbeing aiming to create a zero suicide society.
It's being carried from Blackpool to London by those affected by suicide, stopping off in twenty locations around the country.
Today it journeys through Kent and Medway, travelling through Medway, Maidstone, Canterbury, and Thanet.
Gemma Cayley Smith is one of 130 Kent baton bearers:
"I'm still just so amazed that I get to be a baton bearer. It doesn't matter how far you're carrying it or how long you're holding it for, it's just the honour of being able to do that for Tristan.
"It's the first and only national campaign to raise awareness to suicide, it's huge.
Tristan took his own life in May 2023 aged 15, having struggled with a lack of support with his ADHD.
"When you're in a club that you don't want to be in, you meet a lot of people that have been through the same thing.
"I've met such supportive people, most have lost sons, most are neurodivergent.
"Monday is not going to be easy. It's not easy to talk about what happened to Tristan and his story.
"And sometimes it's very devastating to see how many people are impacted, and that's just a fraction of people that are brave enough to come, talk, share and cry, and be there for each other."
Gemma said Tristan received SEN support "too late".
"His school had known he was on the spectrum, he was diagnosed with ADHD at an early age so he should have had SEN support. But he only got it in the Easter before he took his own life, and it was too little too late by then."
The Baton of Hope is in its second national tour.
This year it's seeing a gold and silver baton representing mental wellbeing being carried by bereaved families and suicide survivors.
The most recent data by the Office for National Statistics shows the three-year average suicide rate in Kent for 2021-2023 was 11.7 per 100,000 people - higher than the England average rate of 10.7.
Gemma, who is now training to be a counsellor, says "there's still a long way to go" in terms of mental health awareness and support.
"It still feels that it's very taboo to talk about your mental health, let alone suicide and suicidal thoughts. But if if we don't, if we don't talk about it, if we don't share how we feel or how people are not coping or having to cope, then they'll they'll continue to be a significant number.
"I think we've come on in leaps and bounds, but there's still a way to go, especially for for young males.
The Baton of Hope aims to create a zero suicide society, by "challenging stigma and campaign for practical change".
For access to local mental health services, please visit https://hubofhope.co.uk/.