Leeds mum sends 'break the stigma' mental health plea as she joins ‘Baton of Hope’ suicide prevention tour

Bairbre McKendrick, 53, of Wetherby, shared her story as she urged all to be mindful of the signs of someone struggling and to reach out and check in on those around them.

She is one of the 85 people across Leeds bereaved or affected by suicide who have volunteered to carry a symbolic baton through the city on September 10, World Suicide Prevention Day – when the nationwide Baton of Hope tour arrives in Leeds.

The tour is calling at 20 places across the UK over two months to raise awareness of suicide and spread the message of hope far and wide, with Leeds City Council and the city’s mental health and suicide prevention organisations, including Touchstone and Leeds Mind, currently planning the Leeds leg.

Bairbre, who works at Leeds City Council in city development, said: “We were obviously very aware but people can be too quick to make assumptions. Robyn was glamorous, had a social life. She was the first up dancing to the music.

“But she was ill. That saying ‘no one pretends to be depressed, people pretend to be ok’ is so true. That was Robyn. She was always pretending to be ok when in reality she wasn’t.

“She was great at checking up on others though – she could spot when other young people were struggling. It’s important that people accept that someone could be struggling – it’s real, even if they present as turning up, at school, at work, being the life and soul of the party.”

Robyn was diagnosed with autism at the end of year 11 when she was 16 and found it difficult to cope with daily life and its many pressures – through school, relationships, friendships and work – often masking her struggles to those around her.

Research shows autistic people are up to seven times more likely to die by suicide, with UK charity Autistica also citing studies which found the risk increases further among autistic people without intellectual disabilities and among autistic women.

Since leaving school, Robyn had made attempts to take her own life and had been treated at hospital. During the last months of her life, she also lost a friend to suicide.

Both of these factors are also known to increase suicide risk, with evidence suggesting people who are bereaved by suicide may be up to three times higher than the general population to take their own life.

“We are broken-hearted and we always will be,” Bairbre added. “Coming together in such a public event is also a way to show people who don’t know about the scale of loss of lives to suicide.

“We need to break the stigma around mental health and show people that even though we cannot see their pain, we care and want to help. We will listen and try to find the right support and offer kindness and hope.”

Details of the route the baton will take through Leeds will be revealed over the coming weeks, with an array of events and activities being planned throughout the day.

Reducing suicide and the stigma around it is priority among partners across the city, as part of work to make Leeds a mentally healthy city – a key objective in the Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2023-2030.

Leeds City Council has also commissioned the Leeds Suicide Bereavement Service, for anyone affected or bereaved by suicide.