A mother of a teenage girl who committed suicide shortly after finishing her GCSEs has been honoured for her charity work by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
“My life changed forever when I lost my 16-year-old daughter, Maisie, to suicide in 2017,” said Helen of Misterton, near Doncaster. “Since then, I have dedicated my spare time to highlighting the importance of early intervention in mental health, and written a book called The Knot to help children cope with their feelings.”
Among Maisie’s possessions was a doodle that read ‘help me’ with the message changing to ‘I’m fine’ when turned upside down and Helen named the charity after the ambigram. Help Me, I’m Fine raises money for suicide prevention training sessions in primary schools across Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
Helen, a teaching assistant, received the Points of Light Award in recognition for her continuing work in helping support teachers in local schools to identify children who are unhappy, worried or suicidal.
In a personal letter to Helen, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said: “I know you do this with no thought of praise or reward, but allow me to offer my own recognition of your strength after losing your daughter, Maisie, and how through ‘Help Me, I’m Fine’, you are supporting the emotional health of children in primary schools.”
Helen described Maisie as an incredibly bright girl who was painfully shy and terrified of making the move from secondary school to college. She said that there needs to be more awareness of the impact that major changes in a child’s life can have on mental well-being.
She said: “I initially started the charity as I wanted to give back to the community after they supported us after Maisie died. Amongst many things, they cooked us meals, which I wouldn’t have been able to do. I believe children are taught to just get on with things and not speak up, but not every child is able to cope. In schools, we talk about careers and moving on, but we don’t talk about how we might be able to deal with these things.”
In the past two years, the charity has raised £35,000 to support schools with THRIVE approach training which aims to equip children with the tools they need to ‘self-regulate’ and get through life’s difficult transitions.
Helen has also published a book entitled ‘The Knot’, to help primary school children understand how to cope with their feelings, with all profits going to the Help Me, I’m Fine charity. Beautifully illustrated, it’s descriptive, and sometimes funny rhyme is what makes it easy for children to relate to.
The Knot has already reached all corners of the UK, as well as Australia, the States, Ireland, Europe and even Nepal and continues to help every child that reads it. It is available to buy from the publisher priced £4.99 +p&p here
(I’ve read this book with my children – see Mumbler blog here)
***Advertising Feature for JJMOFF’s Independant Book Publishers***
