Andrea Davis
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Fundraising for PAUL'S PLACE - BCT
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
I am taking part in The Great North Run to raise funds for “Paul's Place” which offers up to 20 sessions of free one to one counselling to those bereaved by suicide. The service is provided by Liverpool based charity, Beacon Counselling Trust.
They receive no NHS or Government funding and are reliant on fundraising events, donations and charitable grants. This is a special, unique and essential service; and in fact is the only one of its kind in the Merseyside area. We hope that by offering this free counselling we can bring some understanding and peace to those who feel like their lives have ended too.
As we are all aware, suicide is more prevalent now than it has ever been. Bereavement by suicide is not like a ‘normal bereavement’. It is very complex, with so many unanswered questions; the whys, the what if’s, the guilt, and often the stigma and shame that can accompany suicide.
The most recent suicide figures available state that in 2018 there were 6,507 suicides registered in the UK. 4903 of those deaths were men and 1604 were women. Research indicates that very often up to 30 people can be directly affected by eachsuicide; and this figure can sometimes be much higher. Therefore, 195,210 people were potentially in need of help and support via specialist bereavement counselling. Sadly, the reality is that there is very little help available to this vulnerable group; who are 300% more at risk of attempting or completing suicide themselves.