A North Lakes dad, whose daughter took her own life aged just 29, has taken his campaign for greater suicide awareness to Westminster.
Andy Airey met with health minister Gillian Keegan this week to urge more action to bring discussion of the previously taboo subject into the classroom, following research which shows that suicide accounts for the deaths of more than 200 schoolchildren a year in the UK.
A familiar face in Keswick after spending 26 years as the face of the George Fisher outdoor shop, Threlkeld-born Andy dedicated himself to the cause after the death of his daughter Sophie in 2018.
He said: “The message is quite simple: when suicide is the biggest killer of young people in this country, why aren’t we talking about it with young people?
“At the moment it is part of a general discussion in schools that includes everything from mental health to religious radicalisation, but we would like to see much more awareness of the subject as part of the curriculum.
“There’ll never be a day when we can stop it from happening, but too often I hear from other bereaved parents that they just didn’t see the signs at an early stage.”
Andy was joined in London by fellow campaigners Mike Palmer and Tim Owen, whose daughters also killed themselves aged just 17 and 19. Last year the trio made international news after walking 300 miles in aid of suicide prevention charity Papyrus. To date they have raised over £850,000, with donations coming from celebrities including Nicole Kidman and James Bond star Daniel Craig.
“The response to the walk was amazing, but because we were in the thick of it we weren’t really able to process what was going on,” Andy said. “It’s just gratifying to know that we have helped to raise public awareness of the issue.”
The face-to-face meeting Mrs Keegan was overshadowed by reports that she had earlier tested positive for Covid. Ms Keegan subsequently apologised for an “error of judgement”.
However Andy said their discussion had led to progress, and that he, Mike and Tim plan to meet with ministers again later this year.
“Like all politicians, the minister has to be careful what she says, but she was very receptive towards our campaign and I’m hopeful that real progress can now be made,” he said.
Andy remained tight-lipped about whether he plans to repeat his epic walk this year.
