When my best friend passed away suddenly, I was gutted. Depression quickly swallowed me up like quicksand, and I was left bereaved, powerless, and feeling completely alone, even though I was surrounded by people. I call that period my eight months of complete darkness.

Friends and family try to support you up to a point, but you can only put so much on their shoulders. As I was going through the different stages of grief, I realised I needed professional support. Unfortunately, I quickly learned that competent support is usually expensive or can take a long time to find. After jumping through some hoops and getting the help I needed, I promised myself that I would do everything in my power to help others in similar times of need, to look after their mental wellbeing.

Did you know that:

- 1 in 6 of adults in the UK experience a 'common' mental health problem - such as anxiety and depression - in any given week​

- 1 in 4 children in lockdown are dealing with anxiety, with many at risk of lasting psychological distress​

- There were 6,507 suicides in the UK in 2018​, 11% more than in 2017; the rate of suicide in Q4 of 2019 hit a 19-year high

- 93% of LGBTI+ young people are struggling with anxiety, stress & depression during Covid-19 ​

- Mental illness costs (including for treatment, social support, and due to losses to the economy from people who cannot work) amount to £94 billion yearly in the UK. -

Mental wellbeing is a basic human right. Everyone who needs support should have access to this, not in a few months or a few weeks, but right now.

I am working with a team of wonderful people, to develop an app to connect people who need mental health support for free with professionals - psychologists and therapists. This app will allow people to have chats that are completely anonymous and private. We will never ask for names. We just want to help people in their time of need.

We already have some of the funds – having decided as a team to contribute to this from our own pockets - but we need your support to make up the rest, and turn this app and our dream to help others into a reality. Please help us help a loved one, an acquaintance, or a stranger in need.