Paul’s smile would always light up any room
A young Hamilton mum whose life was shattered by suicide is encouraging others to talk about mental health.
Naomi Foster Aiton, 27, is raising her baby daughter alone after her partner Paul-gerard Aiton, a talented goalkeeper from Motherwell, took his own life in August last year, aged just 23.
The couple had just announced they were pregnant with baby Faith, now six months old, the day before he died.
Paul-gerard was one of 784 people who took their own lives in Scotland last year, and horrifying figures recently revealed that suicide rates among Scotland’s young people have almost doubled.
On Sunday, Naomi joined hundreds of people at Strathclyde Park to take in the annual FAMS walk which encourages others to speak about what they describe as an “epidemic”.
With the help of FAMS (Families and Friends Against Murder and Suicide) Naomi is fighting for vital changes to mental health support in Scotland.
She told the Daily Record: “At FAMS the people I have met have been brought together because of suicide.
“I’ve met other young mums with babies and it’s so worrying to wonder how it’s going to be for them down the line. But there’s strength in numbers. We need to stop this before it gets any worse.
“For me, it was a total shock to lose my partner. Everyone said he was the happiest guy ever and he lit up a room with his smile. FAMS came out to me the day my partner died and has been with us ever since.”
Naomi, along with other women and families who lean on the support of FAMS, is backing the charity’s Give Youth a Chance campaign, which calls for mental health support to become part of the curriculum in Scottish schools.
It has so far resulted in a petition of more than 2000 signatures being published by the Scottish Parliament.
Naomi said: “When it happens, you feel lonely and angry at the world. That feeling of loneliness was the worst for me and I still feel it every day. That’s why everyone needs to come together at events like such.
“It makes such a difference just to talk.”