A walk taking in eight football teams around Darlington will go ahead next month in memory of a keen teenage footballer who took his own life.
Harvey McWilliams was 18 when he lost his life to suicide in December 2021 in his home town of Darlington. The talented footballer was a huge Sunderland fan and had broken into the Exeter Panthers team alongside studying sports and exercise science, and his death left friends and family heartbroken.
In his memory, his dad Michael has organised a walk with charity ManHealth for the second consecutive year, with the intention of raising awareness of the charity's groups where men can talk about their mental health. Last year's trek took in 19 football grounds on a 130-mile trek, but this year's is more manageable for most, taking in four football clubs, his schools and hangouts around Darlington.
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The walk is open to anyone to join, and those taking part are encouraged to wear their team colours, in honour of Harvey's love of football. It is hoped that the walk will reduce stigma which still surrounds male mental health and encourage men to open up either to family and friends, or at peer support groups.
Michael described his son as "the life and soul of the party" and a "tornado of joy", and says that Harvey didn't show signs of depression when he took his own life. And he wants to highlight that mental ill-health can take a lot of different forms.
He said: "This is the thing that we need to get across. Harvey’s mental health was brilliant.
"He wasn’t in any low mood, he wasn’t depressed, he didn't have PTSD, he wasn’t anxious. He was having the time of his life."
"When you hear suicide you automatically think depressed, that’s not always the case, it’s the split second that he did what he did. But you don't always have to be in mental ill-health to become suicidal, it was a split second decision that he made."
Michael hopes that the walk will not only raise money for charity ManHealth, but that it will get more men coming to mental health support groups. He added: "We raised about £17,000 doing last years walk and got a lot of men into groups, which is great.
"If we can get one man into a group from that walk, then we've done our job. It's about raising awareness, it's not just about getting money and funds to run groups, that's great, but it's more about letting people know there's one there, wherever you're from.
"We're still getting men coming through the door every week. There should be funding in place for it but there isn't, so this is why we step in and do these groups, to give men a space to talk about their mental health."
ManHealth currently runs groups in Spennymoor, Blyth, Darlington, Barnard Castle, Washington, Newton Aycliffe and Bishop Auckland. To find out more about ManHealth and its support groups, visit the website.
To find out more about the walk in memory of Harvey McWilliams and to donate to ManHealth, click here.
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