Mike McCarthy, a Merseyside father, is hoping a letter written by his son shortly before his death five years ago can help save the lives of people suffering with mental health issues. For more than three decades, Mike built a successful career working for some of the biggest news outlets in the country, but his life changed forever in February 2021.
Mike told the ECHO: "My son Ross was a happy child, and he grew into a wonderful son, a very kind, committed family man. He had a great work ethic and a superb sense of humour. We couldn't have wished for a better son."
"But he also suffered from depression, and that gradually deteriorated from his late teens and early 20s onwards. He went to ask for help from the NHS for therapy, and they put him on a six-month waiting list, and he was two weeks into that wait when he took his own life. And when I finally started to get back on my feet once Ross had gone, I did a lot of research into not only his situation, but, the situation nationally."
A 'long goodbye letter' that sparked a movement
Before taking his own life, Ross left a letter that inspired his father to act. Mike said: "He left a long goodbye letter, in which he asked his family to campaign for better mental health support, and that's something that I've been trying to do ever since."
"Ross saw a cause to be championed in a world that he knew he wouldn't be part of, and he recognised the wider picture. He was a selfless individual, and he recognised the fact that he was one of hundreds of thousands of people who go through depression."
Mike added: "I discovered, to my horror, that the magnitude of suicide in this country is immense, and it kills more men under 50 than anything else in this country, it kills more women under 35 than anything else, school leavers 16 to 18 in the UK - the biggest killer of school leavers is suicide."
Baton of Hope comes to Liverpool
Fulfilling his son's wish, since 2023 Mike has run the Baton of Hope, which sees a baton, similar to the Olympic torch, carried through various cities across the UK during September each year. At its core, Mike said that the campaign's ultimate message is that the movement is "not about death and despair, it's about life and hope and saving lives".
After travelling through various cities across the UK in previous years, on September 24 next year the baton is set to make its way through Liverpool. It has already received the backing of David Leatherbarrow, an Independent councillor for Lydiate and Maghull, who has his own deeply personal reasons for supporting the campaign.
He said: "I've been with my wife for 24 years, we met when we were teenagers and we kind of grew up in each other's houses and knew each other's families, and in 2010, my wife's dad, Kevin, went away on holiday to India for two weeks. Before he went away, he asked, 'Can I give you my number?' and he said that, 'there's a job I want doing back at home, so I'm going to give you this number', so I said, 'OK, no problem'."
"Three days in, I got a phone call from his partner's brother to say he'd taken his own life in his hotel room. At the time we had a two-month-old daughter who's now 17. I had to go into the room and tell my wife, 'Your dad's died away on holiday' and it was completely unexpected. It's the first time I've come across suicide."
Six years after his father-in-law's death, tragedy struck again. David said: "My wife's mum, who I was very close to and I regarded as someone I loved, took her own life as well. I got the knock on the door from the police, similarly to what had happened years earlier, to say my wife's mum, Anne, has passed away."
After hearing about Mike's campaign recently, he decided it is an important way to honour his mother and father-in-law. He said: "I'm involved with a residents group, and a local resident mentioned Baton of Hope. I wasn't aware of it, so when when I looked online, I thought it was a great idea, and I signed up for next September. I just thought it'd be nice to have Anne and Kevin's names passed on."
Project lead shares her story
The project lead for the Baton of Hope coming to Liverpool is Amy Cave, who also has personal reasons for supporting the campaign. She said: "Back in 2020, I reached a point where I no longer wanted to be here. What changed everything wasn't one big dramatic moment, it was my husband and my mum gently pushing me to reach out for help after a long time of feeling unheard. And when I finally was heard, by someone who met me with real compassion at the moment I needed it most, it gave me back a reason to keep going."
"I know how fortunate I was to find help when I did. For far too many people it doesn't come that easily, or that quickly, and that is exactly the problem The Baton of Hope is trying to change. It wasn't a quick fix for me either, recovery rarely is. But it gave me my life back, and it gave me something I've carried ever since. When I was later diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting MS, a diagnosis that shook me to my core, I was frightened but I wasn't lost. This time I could recognise when things were turning dark, and I knew how and when to reach out."
"That is exactly what The Baton of Hope is about. A conversation, a hand held out, a reason to believe things can change. I saw hope again when I thought there was none left. Now I want to help make sure other people in Liverpool get to see theirs too."
"That's why we're [her and her partner, Alex Cave] throwing everything into bringing The Baton here, and why we're asking Liverpool to carry it with us. Applications to become a baton bearer are open right now. Whether you’re walking in memory of someone you’ve lost, to show support for someone who may be struggling, or simply because you believe every life is worth fighting for, we'd be honoured to see you apply through the Baton of Hope website on thebatonofhope.org."
