Thanks for taking the time to visit my page.

Sadly, my brother Lloyd Cochran took his own life in 2012.  He was young, outgoing, positive, and surrounded by loving friends and family.  Yet he was still able to store up feelings to the point that suicide became an option.  It was - and is - completely heartbreaking.

Tragically, suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK.  The experience my family has been through has driven us, along with a troop of wonderful friends, to raise money for CALM with the aim of helping to increase awareness of issues surrounding mental health and suicide, to encourage people to seek help when they need it, and to help people in crisis.

This year a group of 20 of us (a bigger herd than last year!) will be walking 100 miles of the Gower coastline over 4 days in September.  Despite memories of sore bones, a number of last year's heroes are joining us along with a handful of new faces.

I would be very grateful if you would donate anything you can spare to this cause that is so close to my heart.

And, more importantly, if you are able to talk to friends and loved ones about mental health and suicide - helping to break the taboos that still exist - you might help to save someone's life.

The Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is an award-winning charity dedicated to preventing male suicide, the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK. Their goal is a life less miserable – for you, your friends, your family and for all men.

·         Every day on average 12 men take their own life in the UK and three in every four suicides are male (ONS).

·         Of men under the age of 45 in the UK, more than 4 in 10 have contemplated taking their own life, but fewer than half these men told anyone how they were feeling (YouGov).

·         Only 55% of men who’ve experienced depression will tell anyone about it, compared to 67% of women (CALM’s Masculinity Audit 2016).

CALM believe…

that if men felt able to ask for, and find, timely and appropriate help when they need it then hundreds of male suicides could be prevented in the UK.  We believe that there is a cultural barrier preventing men from seeking help as they are expected to be in control at all times, and failure to be seen as such equates to weakness and a loss of masculinity.  We believe that suicide is neither inevitable nor an indication that the individual was a failure in any respect.

CALM. seek to…

• offer immediate support to men who are down or in crisis;
  
• challenge a culture that prevents men seeking help when they need it, and challenge the stereotypes that prevent men talking about the issues they face.  We want to change attitudes so that men feel able to seek help for themselves and create a climate of public opinion so that it’s acceptable for them to do so;


• push for organisational change so that we better support those seeking help, support those who suffer from bereavement, and discover more about male suicide so that we can be in a better position to prevent it.

The CALM Helpline - 0800 585858 - offers confidential, anonymous and free support, information and signposting to men anywhere in the UK.  Calls are taken by paid, trained staff who work exclusively on the CALM helpline.  The helpline currently takes between 1,000 to 2,000 calls per month.

The CALM Website - www.thecalmzone.net - is a lively website with articles to inspire, support and entertain as well as promote the activities of our supporters.  It has a team of young men who regularly write articles, interviews and music and film reviews for the website.  The site also contains articles and a database of agencies via which visitors are signposted directly to other agencies who can help.  They're also on Twitter (@theCALMzone) and Facebook (facebook.com/theCALMzone).

Just Giving: Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.