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 Focus NewsletterApril 2024 |
| Welcome to the April edition of FOCUS and details of Beder charity, whom we have supported for the first time with a grant towards Therapy Vouchers. Beder was set up in January 2020 to increase awareness around mental health and suicide prevention. Sophia Chowdry writes about suicide prevention in our mental health feature below. We include details of the Kew Gardens Half Marathon and a brilliant performance by Em Cockshutt and Dan Barnes on Easter Sunday. And we have more details about our new event in December, Much Ado About Nothing. FOCUS on FUNDRAISING Kew Gardens Half Marathon Sunday March 31st 2024 Em Cockshutt and Dan Barnes took part in the Half Marathon and raised over £1750 for the Trust. As Em said ‘it was an Easter Sunday well spent with amazing friends in memory of another amazing friend, Joe Harris’. Em was delighted with her time of 2 hours 9 minutes and has decided to keep training to break the two-hour mark in the near future. Dan Barnes was delighted with his time of 1 hour 45 minutes and the money raised in memory of his former lacrosse teammate, Joe. There is still time to show your support to Em and Dan with a donation to their their JustGiving page.  Manchester Marathon Sunday April 14th Congratulations to Dan Coles for hitting his target time of 3 hours 46 minutes and raising awareness for the Trust.  NEW FOR 2024 Much Ado About Nothing: Not The Stratford Half-Marathon/Marathon, Saturday December 7th 2024 A truly all-inclusive event, the day will incorporate a choice of original challenges in and around Shakespeare’s Hometown Stratford-on-Avon, including creativity, fundraising, athleticism and most importantly fun! For those who dare, the option of a unique full marathon distance course will be available. This will be a team event with up to four in a team and you can walk, jog or run, As You Like It, so long as you huff and puff! There will be challenges on the way, snacks and hot drinks and plenty of prizes for different achievements, some not so conventional.  Awards up for grabs include: – Best dressed team – Most money raised: “The Merchants of Venice” – Most original team name – Fastest course completion: “Much Ado About Rushing” – Best photo award – Various unique Shakespeare themed challenges – Plus a special endurance prize for completion of full Marathon distance Much Ado About Nothing: Not The Stratford Half-Marathon/Marathon, Saturday December 7th 2024 Continued We intend to make an application to Big Give to coincide with their Christmas Challenge, where all our funds would be match-funded if we were successful with our bid. We will be including more details next month, but in the meantime if you would like to register your interest, please contact Miranda (miranda@beerharrismemorialtrust.org or 07887897673.) or any one of the Trustees. Ironman European Championships, Hamburg Sunday June 2nd 2024 Nathan McAdam Freud will be competing in his first European Championships Ironman in Hamburg. The event has already sold out, but you can show your support to Nathan with a donation! 113 Events Half Ironman Cotswold Waterpark, Sunday July 14th 2024 “This year is the big one! I’ll be swimming, cycling and running the Cotswold 113 Half Ironman on 14th July… finally attempting the full thing!” reports Esther Beer.  “I am raising money for the Beer-Harris Memorial Trust, which was set up after my dad, Dominic – who was a psychiatrist and passionate about helping the least, the last and the lost – died in 2013. The name was later changed to include my cousin after he died in 2017; Joe loved to champion people, empowering and supporting anyone who needed it. The trust continues as a legacy to them by working to support community projects, raise awareness and facilitate research in order to promote improved mental health. If you can spare a few pennies (or pounds!) towards a worthy cause, I would be incredibly grateful.” You can support Esther here. Why not join Esther for the event either as part of a relay team or as an individual. The 1900m swim is in one of the beautiful Cotswold Park lakes, followed by a gently rolling 56-mile cycle and then a mixture of tarmac and hard packed pathing for the 13.1-mile run. Entry fees will be free in exchange for fundraising. For more information click here – or contact Miranda at miranda@beerharrismemorialtrust.org or 07887897673. North Yorkshire Long Course Weekend (LCW) Friday, Saturday and Sunday September 6th – 8th 2024 This event is NEW for 2024. Set in picturesque Pateley Bridge, which sits within Nidderdale Area of Outstanding National Beauty, you can choose your challenge by selecting your preferred distances and disciplines for the Long Course weekend. Entry fees will be free in exchange for fundraising. Friday kicks off with the Yorkshire Dales Swim, giving you the unique opportunity to swim in the stunning Grimwith Reservoir, deep in the Yorkshire Dales. Saturday will see thousands of cyclists start from Pateley Bridge and take on the choice of 56- or 112-mile bike courses set in The Yorkshire Dales National Park. Incorporating some of the sections in Tour de Yorkshire, Tour De France and UCI courses into a very own sportive course. Rounding up the weekend on Sunday, you have a range of run distances from Marathon, Half Marathon, 10k and 5k to take in some of the spectacular surrounding countryside, returning to Pateley Bridge where the massive crowds await you on the red-carpet finish line. For more details, please visit the website. Amsterdam Marathon Sunday October 20th 2024 Ben Carr will be running his third marathon and once again he will be raising money for the BHMT. At a recent meeting with Ben, he said it was the Trust (and Joseph) who had inspired him to start running competitively, first of all with 10km runs and now marathons (he has just completed the London Marathon!). If you feel inspired to start running, whatever the distance, whatever the speed, please contact Miranda (miranda@beerharrismemorialtrust.org or 07887897673) or one of the Trustees to see what support is available. FOCUS on Charity: Beder  “Beder was set up in order to reduce the number of people suffering in silence and feeling that taking their own life is the only option. The charity aims to challenge the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide prevention, stimulate a dialogue to softly raise awareness and provide a platform for us all to play our part in normalising the conversation around these important societal issues.“Beder wants to empower people to take action to help themselves or to support others, however, over the course of the first two years of the charity, learning through outreach and conversations with those impacted by mental health and suicide, Beder became acutely aware that initiative-taking action was needed to encourage people to seek help. Factors including socioeconomic, a lack of regional availability, poor support through education, and even racial barriers meant that, even after recognising and accepting a problem, people are not getting access to the mental health support they need.  Beder uses innovative collaborations to help raise awareness Beder Therapy Vouchers “Beder Therapy Vouchers was set up to work in partnership with Mindler – a digital healthcare provider providing highly trained psychologists. The aim was to remove barriers to seeking help with mental health by providing free and fast support. With access through a simple, online form, those referred or self-referring are assessed within two weeks, enabling the services to be prioritised to those with highest urgency. “Those in need are offered a minimum of 3 x 50-minute online sessions with a psychologist over six weeks, complemented with access to an iCBT platform for one year. “In October 2023, The Beer Harris Memorial Trust kindly donated £1,500 towards Beder Therapy Vouchers.  Who did we help? “In our first year of operation (to 29th February 2024), Beder Therapy Vouchers has received 164 referrals through the online form, and of these, 136 were offered support. (Those not offered support after assessment with a trained psychologist were either deemed at risk and escalated to other services or deemed suitable for different support). “While patient confidentiality makes it difficult for us to access discrete information about cases, we know that they have included treatment for anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. Of those accessing the service 72% were female and 25% male (others prefer not to say). Age ranges: 18-21 – 11% 22-30 – 37% 31-44 – 36% 45-60 – 10% 61+ – 1% (5% prefer not to say) “The national reach can be seen on the map below.  Impact “Again, patient confidentiality means we cannot access individual records, however, we do ask for feedback from those that are willing to provide it. “Firstly, Beder Therapy Vouchers has provided initial contact and offer of help within two weeks of service users accessing the online form. This is a vast improvement on the six weeks minimum given by the NHS (although this is not always met). “Of those who completed the feedback, all found the sessions useful, and all ‘somewhat agree’ that the course of three therapy sessions and access to ICBT platform has helped them achieve their therapy goals. “Beder gave Minder discretion to offer more sessions in the case of someone they agreed needed further support. This has resulted in some receiving additional sessions for which they were extremely grateful.  Summary “As a result of our first year of work, we have identified the need to try and provide more than 3 sessions per person for free, and so we are fundraising to offer 6 sessions for each person. Additionally, our efforts continue to engage with males and encourage them to seek help, as the % was low, and to concentrate marketing in areas less represented. “We are most grateful to the Trustees of the Beer-Harris Memorial Trust for the generous donation, and we would be incredibly grateful if we could be considered for further support.” For further information about Beder please visit their website. If you would like to make a donation to our charity, which enables us to help this project, please click here: Donate FOCUS on Mental Health: reports Sophia Chowdry Suicide is complex, tragic and its effects can be devastating, however, suicide can be preventable. A person may be at high risk of attempting suicide if they are: Threatening to hurt or take their own life Talking or writing about death, dying or suicide Actively looking for ways to take their own life, such as stockpiling tablets However, there may be other more subtle warning signs. Some people think that suicidal thoughts are normal, however, suicidal thoughts and actions are an extreme sign that a person is in anguish and needs help. Ways to help someone who is showing these warning signs include asking them if they want to take their life, reducing their access to lethal means and supporting them by acknowledging their thoughts and making them feel listened to. You could help them connect with people they trust, for example, family members and friends. You could also help them reach out to contact lines and get in touch with them after a crisis, as this reduces the chance of them relapsing. There are a lot of helplines all of which can be found on the NHS website. Remember that if someone is in immediate danger do not hesitate to call 999.  If you would like to make a donation to support any of our work, please click here: Donate If you are able, please consider making your donation a monthly one. Monthly support helps create long term stability for the Trust and our commitment to promote wellbeing to those who suffer from mental health illness. Please visit our website to find out more about the organisations we support. Once again thank you for your donations, involvement and interest in the Trust. Best wishes, Roy Harris (Chairman) |
April FOCUS…
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