The dad of a teenage girl who heartbreakingly took her own life after struggling to deal with Covid lockdowns has a strong message for school children - "you are not alone". Mike Palmer lost his beloved daughter Beth, 17, to suicide in March 2020.
Mike, a firefighter from Sale, has since refused to let his talented daughter's loss be in vain, joining forces with two other dads from Greater Manchester who lost their daughters to suicide, Tim and Andy, to raise awareness of the biggest killer of under 35s in the UK. Beth, who had been studying to become a vocal artist, died just days after the coronavirus lockdowns were announced which Mike had 'no doubt' played a 'major part' in her death.
He has since been campaigning with the charity PAPYRUS, a group dedicated to the prevention of young suicide. Mike last week (July 15) joined around 1,000 students from Middleton Technology School in a 10k walk up Tandle Hill to raise money for the charity and to raise awareness around young people's mental health, especially those affected by the pandemic, returning to school with restrictions and added exam pressures.
