In Loving Memory of Our Billy, who sadly passed away on the 25th January 2021 at the age of 26. 

We're asking for donations to Place2Be, a charity dedicated to working in schools with children facing mental health struggles. When Billy was a child he started to struggle with his mental health and if there was better help and education surrounding mental health in children within his school he may have found it easier to talk. 

• 1 in 6 children and young people have a diagnosable mental health problem, and many continue to have these problems into adulthood.
• 50% of those with lifetime mental health problems first experience symptoms by the age of 14. 

This is why children and young people's understanding of mental health problems and access to support is so vital. 

Billy was the most caring person that we knew, and he would not want another child to have to face the struggles that he did beginning when he was aged 9 and continuing into his adult life. 

When Billy was 9 he started having trouble breathing often in class and he thought he had asthma, once he told me I took him to the hospital and they gave him X-rays but did not see a cause. It turns out Billy was having panic attacks and just didn't understand what they were. If there was more understanding and support about mental health problems within his school, he wouldn't have suffered in silence. 

Place2Be offers mental health support in schools and free mental health training for school staff, so kids like Billy can have someone to talk to and teachers can recognise when kids need help. This is why we think Place2Be is the perfect charity to honour Billy's memory. 

We miss and love you very much Billy x

Your life was a blessing, 
your memory a treasure,
you are loved beyond words,
and missed beyond measure.