A CHARITY set up in memory of a much-loved woman has reached a significant fundraising target.
Lucy’s Legacy was created in honour of Lucy Pearson, pictured right, who lost her life to suicide in September 2024, aged 37.The daughter of Ann and David, sister to Faye, wife to Simon and mum to Jasmine and Jasper, Lucy suffered with post-natal depression.
After her death, Lucy’s Legacy was born, with the aim of raising awareness and vital funds to support those suffering with post-natal depression and maternal mental health-related illnesses.
Their latest event, a family friendly dog show held at Beadlam Grange Farm Shop last week, raised £1,500 for Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale Mind (SWR Mind), bringing the total to over £25,000 for Lucy’s Legacy.
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Sarah Monkman, a co-founder of Lucy’s Legacy, said: “What started as a tribute to Lucy has grown into a powerful movement for maternal mental health, and we’re proud to share the progress we’ve made.
“Lucy sadly took her life after a battle with post-natal depression and psychosis. This resulted in two young children losing their mother, a husband losing a wife, a sister losing her sibling and a mother and father losing their child.
“Despite our grief we made a promise that no other mother, or family should go through the same experience, so we, her family and friends, were inspired to take action, and what began as a tribute has grown into a movement for change after we discovered the severe lack of perinatal mental health care in our area.
“The statistics are shocking with suicide continuing to be the leading cause of maternal death between six weeks to 12 months after birth and one in four mothers will experience a mental health problem during the perinatal period.
“That being said, research from The Maternal Mental Health Alliance shows that out of 63 areas of the country, 13 are not meeting guidelines set out by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and seven of these are in our locality, so even if women do seek help, they are unlikely to receive quality care.
“With all this information behind us, Lucy’s Legacy was born, founded by Lucy’s amazing sister, Faye Wheldon, alongside her mum Ann Mullholland and two friends, Holly Everson and myself.
“We are a grassroots, community-driven organisation committed to improving support and raising awareness around maternal mental health, ensuring no mother feels alone or unheard during one of the most vulnerable times of her life.”
Sarah said that since the launch of Lucy’s Legacy they had organised multiple successful fundraisers, the most recent being the very successful dog show.
“We have now raised over £25,000 for SWR Mind and partnered with the charity to create a web page, start a poster and leaflet campaign.
“Most recently we have secured fully funded counselling support for struggling mums through SWR Mind and are planning training, awareness workshops, and resources to families and professionals.
“We have also actively campaigned to end the postcode lottery in perinatal mental health care and will continue to do so until change is made.”
Lucy’s Legacy’s next event will be a Bands & Blackjack night on October 4 at Kirkbymoorside Golf Club
Sarah said: “It will be our biggest event yet. We want to celebrate Lucy’s life, celebrate our achievements over the last 10 months and of course, raise awareness and vital funds to keep our campaign going and help provide support for struggling families.
“Mums shouldn’t have to wait for support or have to wait to find out the help is inadequate or simply not there.
“Our fundraising is turning pain into action, providing real help, right now. Because no mother should be left behind.”
For more information and support, go to www.lucyslegacy.co.uk
For those seeking support during difficult times, The Samaritans are available 24/7 to offer confidential help. Visit their website or call 116 123.
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