“I cannot wait to trek Machu Picchu and travel South America with you, mate” - the last words I heard from my friend Josh in person, before he tragically took his own life.

Mental Health Problems have long been considered a taboo subject with most people.  Unlike physical injuries, it is not something you can clearly identify and thus cannot see the devastating impact that it holds on individuals and subsequently their loved ones.  

 Suicide is now the biggest killer of men under 40 in the UK. As a result, we need to encourage people to start to talk about depression much more openly.  In time, creating a culture where those suffering in silence, fearing the repercussions of speaking out, can talk openly about their illness.

 Having experienced and continuing to feel the pain myself, of tragically losing one of my closest friends, at such a young age to this terrible illness I have seen the impact it can have on so many. Josh was just beginning a promising acting career and having seen the well documented link between depression and performing artists we feel compelled to help the “Mind” charity to continue their brilliant work in aiding sufferers and their loved ones.

As the quote at the top of the page alludes to: Josh and I had begun to plot our next great adventure, having previously been lucky enough to travel to Australia and NZ together with our friends.  This was the last conversation we had before tragedy struck, and thus it resonates with me greatly.

Having anguished about how best I can honour my dear friend, I have now decided, as we had discussed, to continue with the trek to Machu Picchu in Peru towards the end of 2016 as our long term goal in terms of raising money alongside other great friends of Josh; Chris Halkett, Tom Bradshaw-Smith & Matt Fletcher. I have no doubt that Josh will be with us every step along the way. Marvelling at this wonder of the world, whilst taking great delight in us “living life” by seeing something that we had dreamt of doing together.

Throughout 2016, friends of Josh around the world will be taking part in a series of different fundraising events, culminating in the trek to Machu Picchu with the aim of raising at £20,000 to support “Mind” in continuing their remarkable services.   Please check out their website http://www.mind.org.uk/ to see what incredible work they do to support those with mental illness.

We want to cover a wide range of events, from half marathons to concerts to school/company non-uniform days,  in order to make as much noise as we can for Mind charity and will call upon the vast support network of Josh's friends & family to help us along the way. Our first major event will be to compete as a large team in Tough Mudder in January! 

Whether it's donating to support a friend taking part in a particular event, or just as a show of support to the overall cause of this charity, your donations will mean so much to so many.  If as a friend / relative of Josh you would like to get involved, then please do get in contact as we shall have a Facebook & Twitter page called "with Josh in mind" that will keep people up-to-date with our progress.  

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  If you’d like to make a donation to Mind - The Mental Health Charity I’d be very grateful, as it will help them continue their amazing work (Please don't forget if you are a UK Tax Payer to tick "add gift add" unless you are immediate family whom unfortunately are not eligible). As well as any donations you may want to give, we would be so grateful if you could share our page with anyone you feel would want to support this worthy cause. Thank you.

 Nick, Chris, Tom, Matt & Henry

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.