Brighton is the penultimate stop on a nationwide tour that is “the biggest suicide awareness and prevention campaign the UK has ever seen”. It is coming to Brighton on Wednesday 5 July and everyone is welcome to take part and show their support
The Baton of Hope is visiting 12 cities in as many days and aims to kickstart a national conversation while calling for renewed action on suicide prevention.
The tour, in which an Olympic-style baton is carried by people whose lives have been affected by suicide, began in Glasgow on 25 June and will end next week at Downing Street in London. On Wednesday 5 July, the tour makes its penultimate stop in Brighton, where it will set off along the seafront with support from DJ and local resident Fatboy Slim.
Tanya Marwaha, a trustee of West Sussex Mind, has been working on the project for over a year and is currently travelling with the tour around the country.
“It's been incredible,” she says. “I think the most emotional thing has been watching people handing over the baton, because you're really able to see the impact it has on them. We've also had really rewarding conversations and interactions with people who, in their local regions, have been able to connect with others and get to know the local charities and organisations that can support them.”
According to government statistics, the national suicide rate has remained more or less the same for the last 20 years, despite several initiatives. In 2021, there were 6,319 deaths by suicide in England and Wales.
The Baton of Hope messaging puts these figures in stark terms: “Suicide is the biggest killer of men and women under 35 in the UK. More than in traffic accidents. More than from cancer. Seventeen people will die by suicide today… and tomorrow… and the day after that. And every single one is potentially preventable.”
For Tanya, the campaign has already had an impact on a personal level as her involvement prompted her father to open up about his own experience of being bereaved by suicide.
“In Brighton I will be carrying the baton and so will my father. My grandfather lost his life to suicide when my dad was 16, so I never got to meet him. And for us, it's really symbolic because my Dad's never spoken about it. He's only started speaking about in the last two months. And so we've been on a personal journey, I guess, in our household of just getting that conversation going.”
The Baton of Hope was launched by Mike McCarthy and Steve Phillip in 2022. Both men lost a son to suicide. Determined that their sons’ deaths would not be in vain, they set out to boost the national conversation, eliminate stigma and encourage institutions to take action. In May, they presented a Workplace Charter to Parliament which advises employers on suicide support. Tanya is leading on the introduction of a subsequent Education Charter.
In Brighton, 90 “baton bearers” will carry the baton 25km across the city, starting at the Peace Statue at 8am and stopping for free events at Platf9rm, a community garden in Kemptown, the Brighthelm Centre and the Bevy community pub. This will be followed by ‘An Evening of Hope’ at Brighton Dome featuring talks and performances from acts, including international beatbox star SK Shlomo, local drag queen Cherry Bomb and award-winning poet Cecilia Knapp.
“The baton is for each and every one of us,” says Tanya. “We all have a role to play when it comes to preventing suicide. That's the symbolism of passing it onto each other. We're unified and we're all in this to make an impact together, because it's all of our responsibility.”
If you're struggling with how you are feeling, you can find sources of local support on this website.
West Sussex Mind and Living Works offer free online suicide prevention training for anyone living in West Sussex over the age of 16. See https://www.westsussexmind.org/training-courses/mental-health-training/suicide-prevention-training
