A West Lothian mum who tragically lost her son to suicide has bravely shared his last messages to her, in an effort to urge others to look out for their loved ones.
Jamie Aitchison took his own life in December 2022 at the age of just 20, after suffering from mental health issues and substance abuse for years, reports the Daily Record.
His mum Debbieanne Marriott was left devastated, as well as all of his family and friends, but she is determined that his upsetting death would not be in vain.
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The family set up Jamie's Sanctuary in order to help young people in a similar situation as he was before his death.
The charity has launched its own social channels, and will be offering outreach services across West Lothian later on this year.
Debbieanne has also bravely shared some of Jamie's final texts to her, so others can be aware of what to look out for when someone is contemplating suicide.
She said: “This is a text message that Jamie sent to me, two weeks before he took his own life.
“I post this, not to upset anyone but to show you how quickly your mental health can change when you add alcohol and drugs on top. You don’t have be an addict but if you’re struggling with your mental health and add any mood altering or mind substance into your body, this will have a major impact.
“Please take note of this and please reach out and speak out, especially men. All it takes is one message to ask for help and if I can’t help you then I promise you, I will know someone who can.”
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Jamie's Sanctuary was stated by Debbieanne and Jamie's best mate, Cammy Moore, in order to raise awareness of issues surrounding mental health and addiction to "keep Jamie's memory alive".
The charity aims to at to the fight of preventing suicide, and mental health and addiction and advocacy work with young people in Scotland.
The first project will be a mental health bus that will travel to where it’s most needed and will also support other charities, like Neil’s Hugs.
Kick Mental Health has also joined the charity by hosting Friday night football sessions in memory of Jamie at Blackburn Community Centre. A charity football match in his memory will also take place next month.
To mark Mental Health Awareness this week, Debbieanne and Cammy are running a competition to give away self-care goodies.
Debbieanne said: “We have been so overwhelmed with the amount of support we have had over the past few months and not just with the charity but with all the love and support we have had since the loss of our Jamie Rae - Jambo to his mates.
“Words will never express the gratitude we feel so, we have decided to give this basket of self care goodies away as a thank you in aid of Mental Health Awareness Week.”
You can find the jamie's Sanctuary Facebook page here Instagram page here or email jamiessanctuary20@gmail.com.
If you are struggling and need help and support there are a number of organisations who can be contacted.
■ Samaritans are on 116 123 (24hr) or email jo@samaritans.org – calls are free and confidential.
■ Breathing Space 0800 83 85 87 (6pm – 2am daily and 24 hours weekends) is a free, confidential service for anyone experiencing low mood or depression.
■ For help and support for your mental health, speak to your GP or if out of hours, call NHS 24 on 111.
■ Lanarkshire Suicide Prevention App – search for SP Lanarkshire with your App store provider.
■ ChildLine 0800 1111 – a free 24-hour helpline for children and young people in the UK.
■ HopeLine UK (0800 24 20 24) is a free service for children and young people under the age of 35 who are experiencing thoughts of suicide and for anyone concerned that a young person could be thinking about suicide.
■ For more focused support, see www.elament.org.uk
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