Having lost their friend to suicide in April 2020, Bridie Squires is one of fourteen people undertaking Tough Mudder to celebrating the legacy of Harry McCormick, highlighting the issue of male suicide and raising vital funds for The Tomorrow Project
Despite numerous, high-profile campaigns encouraging men to seek help when they’re feeling depressed, or aiming to destigmatise males opening up about their feelings, the latest Samaritan statistics show that men are still committing suicide at a rate more than three times higher than that of women. And COVID certainly didn’t help. Being snatched out of our everyday routines and thrown into, in many cases, a seemingly endless, shapeless period of isolation wreaked havoc on the mental wellbeing of countless people in all corners of the country. While there isn’t much solid data yet, anecdotally it feels like we all knew someone who sadly committed suicide during lockdown.
Harry McCormick was only thirty years old when he took his own life in April 2020. A Nottingham creative, he was both well-known and well-loved in the city, and contributed articles to LeftLion during Bridie Squires' time as Editor. “It’s hard to put into words what Harry meant to us all,” Bridie says about her friend. “His positive energy was incredibly infectious and even with his amazing intelligence and talent, he was so humble with such a genuine interest in anyone he met.”
Bridie was joined by countless other people in being utterly shocked at Harry’s death, describing how “shock thundered through our hearts” at learning the news. And, with the issue of male suicide continuing to be the leading cause of death in males aged 20-34 (27.1%), Bridie has teamed up with a group of Harry’s friends to tackle the infamous Tough Mudder course in a bid to raise money for The Tomorrow Project, a cause established in response to a cluster of suicides in East Leake in 2012. A confidential, community-based suicide prevention, intervention and postvention service, The Tomorrow Project are a team of individuals who understand despair, with many of them having faced similar difficulties.
His positive energy was incredibly infectious and even with his amazing intelligence and talent, he was so humble with such a genuine interest in anyone he met
For the uninitiated, Tough Mudder is a notoriously difficult test of strength, stamina and endurance, with participants tasked with tackling a 15km obstacle course packed full of electric shocks, ice baths, three-story high rope ladders, mud mounds, barbed-wire clearances and plenty more.
With an initial aim of raising £2,000 for the charity, the group of fourteen of Harry’s friends are already close to the 50% mark, with the Tough Mudder event taking place at Belvoir Castle on Saturday 23 April. So if you’re reading this and want to help Harry’s friends celebrate his legacy and support The Tomorrow Project, take a look at their GoFundMe link and, if you can, chuck them a few quid.
“Whether it's a fiver or five-hundred quid, it will make a positive difference to the fundraiser, so please don't be shy,” Bridie finishes. “We are determined to not let the pain and grief of the past two years override how thankful we are to have been blessed by that crazy, ginger, freestyling, metal-head scientist.”
You can find out more information and donate money by visiting the GoFundMe page
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