A brother and sister who founded a mental health support group after their eldest brother took his own life are raising awareness around addiction and depression.
On January 16, 2018, Damian Graham died by suicide aged 29, what his brother Adam called "an unnecessary death at the hands of mental health and drug addiction".
"He had battled with addiction for over eight years in an attempt to gain control over his mental health."
After his death, Adam and his sister Nicola Redding launched Rise & Shine Lancashire to honour Damian and provide a way for local people to get together and openly discuss their problems, and also support homeless people.
By providing peer support groups, the charity aims to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness and encourage family members and friends to discuss these “taboo” issues in normal conversation, to prevent those who are struggling from taking their own lives.
In 2016, Damian enrolled at University of Central Lancashire to become an English teacher and inspire and educate everyone around him.
Although he was battling with mental illness and addiction, Nicola said: “He was understanding of the fact that the NHS was underfunded and stretched so couldn’t give him the help he needed.
“He genuinely was one of the kindest, most giving human beings you would meet. We always count ourselves lucky that we got to have him in our lives for the short time that we did.”
Damian reached out for support but due to the three month long waiting lists to be seen by professionals and the “lack of understanding around drug addiction”, didn’t receive enough help.
Nicola, 32, and Damian’s mum were by his side whilst Adam was at university in London, but Nicola said this support wasn’t enough.
She said: “We weren’t that knowledgeable over what Damian needed; he needed professionals but the minute he mentioned he had a drug addiction he would be told that he couldn’t get the support.
“It was painful to witness, he was crying out for help but he just didn’t get it so he would fall straight back into the drug habit.
“He did everything he possibly could but wasn’t supported so that ultimately led to him having no confidence in any kind of service.”
After Damian passed, Adam and Nicola became aware of the tragic number of suicides in Lancashire so decided to channel their grief into something positive and supportive for those struggling in the local area.
Within a few months, the charity had about 600 members. Four years later, they have opened several peer support groups in the area and now Rise & Shine is on its way to becoming a Community Interest Company (CIC).
The groups are on every week in Blackburn and Preston, and are flexible to ensure they are guaranteed to be there for people every week.
Adam, 31, said: “We are not the solution which is what our strong point is. We aren’t there to cure, we’re just here in between clinical services.
"Unfortunately, that isn’t happening. People are coming to us every week with an absolute need for support because they’re not getting respite from professional services.”
Adam shared that Covid has been one of the bigger impacts on their members mental health as well as current affairs.
He said: “Quite a few members suffered during the Conservative leadership race and a lot are struggling with the news and the turmoil with what’s happening with the government.
“It’s just constant all the time. And we’re seeing the tangible effects of the government’s decisions. A lot are struggling with the constant uncertainty of what happens next.”
In an aim to support some of the most vulnerable people in society, the charity has been running a Winter Survival Project every year since they started.
The project aims to hand out 20 survival packages each around Blackburn,Burnley, Accrington, Blackpool and Preston.
The packs provide hats, gloves, clothes, and more necessities to people living on the streets. The charity has raised over £2,500 for the project this year.
The charity is fundraising for the Winter Survival Project up until the end of November and they are looking for volunteers to help hand out the packs in the five different towns.
Nicola added: "I'm so passionate about this group and I'm excited to try and make a difference because it resonates with myself, my brother, and our mum how lucky we are to have each other, it reminds us to be thankful and we'll never judge anybody; we want people to join in."
You can sign up as a volunteer here and visit Rise & Shine website.
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