BID TO PREVENT FURTHER TRAGEDIES
OVER the past year, Pete Kenny and his partner, Dinah, Jamie’s mum, have decided to work together to help steer other young people away from suicide.
Pete said: “If we can help to save just one family going through the loss of a child this way it will be worth it.“
Starting on Friday, Pete is walking the Cape Wrath Trail, a 230-mile hike through the wilds of northern Scotland to raise funds for Papyrus, a charity which works to prevent young suicides. The walk is reputed to be the hardest long-distance walk in the UK, through remote country, in the notoriously variable Highland weather.
Pete said: “We went to the Highlands a lot as a family, and Jamie loved the outdoors. It seemed a good way to honour his memory and raise money as well.
“It’s gone so well, much better than we imagined: since January we’ve raised over £6,000, which is getting on for three times our target.
“It’s so good to get a place, a little bit of magic, because so many people apply.
“It’ll be my third marathon, certainly my last, and an honour to run in such a big event in Jamie’s memory and to help others.”
Pete has also made a YouTube video raising awareness of young suicide by telling Jamie’s story. He filmed it with Max Wolfe, a close friend of his son, who is a Leicester-based filmmaker.
The grieving father hopes that telling his son’s story will help other people talk more about their problems.
He said: “We wanted to make a video to talk about Jamie’s death and promote awareness and perhaps nudge people into talking more about their challenges and problems.
“It was certainly hard to make, it took a lot of thought about what we wanted to say, and obviously stirred up a lot of strong feelings.
“It was great to make it with Jim’s friend Max, and he did a fantastic job with it.
“We will always carry the weight of Jamie’s loss, that deep sadness won’t leave us, we know.
“But if we can honour his memory and help others along the way, that will feel as if we are making a difference.”
If you would like to donate to Pete’s fund-raising appeal, visit: