It came as a devastating and time-stopping shock to everyone when our friend Lee Halpin passed away, at the age of 26, in April this year. As was well reported in the press at the time, he died while in the throes of making a 'fearless' and immersive documentary about the growing homelessness problem in our home town, Newcastle upon Tyne. It is so hard to come to terms with the reality of him leaving us, of such a bright light going out so needlessly. He had talent, charisma and intelligence to burn. He was outstandingly handsome. I have never been so sure of anything in my life as I was that Lee Halpin would be incredibly successful at anything he chose to do. He was undeniably...special. It's difficult to say those things without sounding like a cliche, lauding praise blindly on someone who's passed, seeing them through rose-tinted grief. But those who knew him, or even just met him once at a party, will know. We are the lucky ones.

Homelessness was one of his many causes. He engaged with society in such a fervently interested and pro-active way. However,  it was the issue on his mind right at the end. It had the full blast of his passion and focus, having given up his comfort and privilege in an attempt to fully understand how society had abandoned a community of people. To find out who our homeless are. He wanted to stand up for people who had no voice and to raise awareness of a spiralling domestic problem that we often turn a blind eye to. The world is a difficult place to be at the moment and sometimes, we are so busy looking after ourselves that we forget to take care of those around us who are struggling. Lee remembered. In Kate Fox's tribute, she recalled that in an interview Lee said that he didn't have an outstanding talent, just a lot of 'get up and go'. While I can't agree with him about the talent, it is this 'get up and go' we should aim to emulate. His commitment to his beliefs and his motivation to change the things he saw were wrong are his example to us all. 13.1 miles seems a very small challenge in a big world but it's a start. Please sponsor us to run in memory of this incredible man we've all lost. Help us to help others for him. 

 

 

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