Last Boxing Day, our Mum / Mother-In Law, took her own life due to what we now believe to be mental health issues that she had been masking and battling on her own for some time.

We knew Sally was sometime a worrier, we knew that she sometimes had low self-esteem and we knew that she sometimes struggled to adapt to all the new technology in today's rapidly changing world.  However none of these things on their own or together should have led her to do what she did. She was just a special but ordinary wife, mum and granny facing the challenges of life like everyone else.

Sally’s story has touched and resonated with so many people and our initial fundraising campaign aimed at raising awareness of mental health issues raised (with Gift Aid) an impressive £21,087.08. This was split equally between Mind (the national charity, no. 219830) and Tyneside and Northumberland Mind (charity no. 1140856).

Despite smashing our original fundraising target, we aren’t going to stop there as Sally would want us all to continue helping those that need it and as a family we want to prevent the same thing happening to other families in the future. For this reason, we are running the 2016 Great North Run in aid of Tyneside and Northumberland Mind.

Tyneside and Northumberland Mind provide invaluable services to those in need of support, and also work to promote positive mental health and wellbeing. Their work is essential and saves lives, but they rely entirely on donations and voluntary work- and that is where we can all help.

We hope our continued promotion and understanding of mental health issues will increase people’s awareness and help to recognise when their own loved ones need help and support.