Tragedy inspired Derek to launch life-saving group

NIKI TENNANT

When people whose burdens have become too much to bear and the motivation to carry on has long since deserted them, walk through the door of Castlemilk’s new suicide awareness and support group, they won’t be greeted by a man in a stiff grey suit whose name has an appendage of university degrees.

Instead, what they will find is an ordinary bloke named Derek Reid, a Castlemilk dadof-four, who works in a primary school, coaches a football team and sings cover versions at parties.

But to those who look forward to his LD Let’s Talk meetings, Derek and what he does for them is far from unremarkable.

In June, a woman he’d known and looked up to took her own life.

Derek was among the mourners at the funeral of 48-year-old mum of two, Angie Courtney.

“It was the pain I saw in her daughter’s eyes that day that prompted me to do something,” explained Derek, 35.

“There have been a lot of suicides in Castlemilk in the last 18 months. I woke up one morning and thought about doing this. I didn’t realise how much it was needed.”

Derek cobbled together a rough badge branded ‘LD Let’s Talk,’ named after his boys’ foootball club, Little Dynamos, and announced on social media the existence of a new Castlemilk-based suicide awareness campaign.

“People instantly liked and shared the page. It kind of went a bit mental when it launched,” explained Derek, who has hosted four LD Let’s Talk meetings in recent months.

Up to 15 people have attended, locals and others from Motherwell and Paisley for the meetings at the Brigidale Complex in Castlemilk.

For a new organisation, that’s an impressive turnout.

“I don’t want the meetings to be busy, because I don’t want people to be suffering or struggling mentally,” said Derek.

“But if someone is there, that is comforting to me, because they are there for a reason – and that means the meetings are working.”

Derek doesn’t have lived-experience of anxiety or depression, he hasn’t lost a family member to suicide, and he’s never had suicidal thoughts himself.

He doesn’t have bits of paper certifying any counselling qualifications, although he recently underwent training courses in mental health first aid for adults and children.

“I just want to help”, said the former Castlemilk High School pupil, who’s a support for learning worker at Castleton Primary.

The exhibition boards, branded LD Let’s Talk T-shirts, posters and coffee and biscuits at meetings don’t pay for themselves.

Poignantly, the first volunteer to come forward and offer her services as a fundraiser was 21-year-old Darcy McBride, whose pain and devastation at the loss of her mum, Angie, was what inspired Derek to set up the outreach group just weeks after her untimely death.

The people who attend the LD Let’s Talk meetings come to unburden or simply to listen about struggles with anxiety, depression or the loss of a loved one to suicide.

Some gain comfort simply by being there, even though they don’t utter a word.

Others are at a loss and seeking guidance that they can take back to their families to bring some comfort and support.

And it’s not unusual for an individual to connect with someone at a meeting, to relate to their story, and for them to continue to share and lean on each other long after the meeting has drawn to a close.

Derek said: “People who have not met each other before are now interacting.

“They’re realising there are others struggling with the same issues. The first time I see new faces at a meeting, I tell them I am not Superman.

“It is them and their own experiences that are going to help them and each other, which has proved very effective so far, with people saying the meetings are better than anything they have attended before.

“I want people to know that they can come regardless of how big or small their problem seems. The magnitude of a problem is not a competition, and a person’s problems will never be measured against those of someone else – everyone respects that.”

To ensure the mutual support extends beyond the meetings, Derek has through social media created a way in which people can share their mood by quite literally talking from the heart.

In response to his simple post: “How are you feeling today?” people who are supported by LD Let’s Talk are invited to reply with a heart emoji – red for low, yellow for ‘no bad,’ and green for good. And when someone responds with a red heart, messages of concern and support come flooding in.

“When I launched this, maybe I was naive to think the need was not as big as it has proved to be,” admitted Derek, who has received invaluable support and advice from C9 Foundation founders Colin Gregg and Chris Mitchell, who tackle mental health within grass roots football.

“This is without a doubt the hardest thing I’ve ever done. We are helping so many people and it is a huge thing.

“I go home from meetings and I don’t detach myself. It takes me a couple of days to get back to normal.

“I am not planning on going anywhere. I am here for as long as everybody who attends these meetings needs me to be there.”

The next meeting of LD Let’s Talk will be held the Brigidale Complex in Castlemilk at 7.15pm on Monday, January 13.

For more information, or simply just to talk or be signposted to other sources of support, call 07825 428847.