Two Macclesfield individuals are running a campaign to prevent suicide in the area.

Launching from the Old Millstone pub, the campaign also aims to raise awareness for mental health issues and support those who are affected.

Eli Fernihough and Charmaine Mcgavigan, who are behind the campaign, have started a petition to improve mental health services in Macclesfield.

Macclesfield Nub News contacted Eli and Charmaine to find out more.

"I've worked in mental health most of my life," said Eli.

"And in lockdown, I got my qualification in awareness of mental health issues and understanding different types of disorders."

Eli and Charmaine are also starting fortnightly group sessions in collaboration with the Old Millstone to support those with mental health issues.

"Supporting people coming together and sharing your own mental health can help recovery and educate others while reducing stigma," Eli explained.

"Sharing can allow us to find out that others have been through similar experiences.

"We want people to feel heard, that they're not on their own."

The campaign aims to highlight the lack of appropriate mental health services in Macclesfield in order to create change.

Almost 200 people have signed the petition so far.

"Services are understaffed, assessments aren't conducted quickly enough, and help isn't available around the clock," Charmaine expanded.

"At present there are 17 people waiting for a bed on the mental health wards in this town alone.

"In the past two years, Macclesfield has been plagued with an extremely alarming amount of suicides," Charmaine said.

Of the ten regions in England and Wales, the north west has the second-highest suicide rate, according to the Office for National Statistics, with 12.5 people perishing from suicide for every 100,000 deaths.

Eli and Charmaine, who have both struggled with their mental health, are running a petition to improve mental health services in Macclesfield so that suicide can be prevented.

Their aim to reach the 10,000 signatures needed to receive government attention.

The petition can be signed on this link: https://www.change.org/p/support-the-campaign-to-prevent-suicide-in-macclesfield.

"Any support would be amazing," Charmaine added.

Eli has hinted that the campaign may be receiving some celebrity involvement in the near future.

Macclesfield: Sign the petition on this link. 

Following previous fundraising drives for the homeless, cancer charities and a new bleed kit, this suicide awareness campaign is the latest project for the community by the Waters Green pub.

You can see more of the work in the community that Macclesfield's Old Millstone pub are doing, please click here.

East Cheshire NHS were contacted by Macclesfield Nub News on Friday February 23 for comment. As were the Mental Health Foundation UK, who the petition is also addressed to.

Oliver Chantler, Head of Policy in England for the Mental Health Foundation, said: "'Mental health problems are on the rise in the UK. But this is not inevitable and it can be prevented."

Whilst there are things we can do to protect our own mental health - activities like exercising, spending time in nature and enjoying social connection - we need action from the government that protects the mental health of people across the UK.

Alongside investment in mental health services, we need investment in programmes that prevent people from developing mental health problems in the first place, like anti-bullying programmes, better support for new mums and targeted work aimed at groups at higher risk of suicide, like middle-aged men.'"

See Also: Suicide must be de-stigmatised if more deaths are to be prevented