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I have been asked to write a short article for the Newsletter, in order perhaps to renew my acquaintance with those of you I have been involved with in the past, and to introduce myself to you who have become members of PAPYRUS more recently.
My dear son, Edward, aged 17 yrs, took his own life in November 1989, apparently “out of the blue”, having shown no signs of unhappiness let alone depression. He was a kind, caring and academically gifted young man and our grief was indescribable. Over the next few years I trod a lonely path in my tortuous search for answers, attending and speaking at conferences on suicide prevention and serving on various mental health committees. I then began to meet other parents who had also lost children in this way and in 1997 we eventually joined together to form PAPYRUS. We were fortunate to win the support of my local NHS Trust who still today provide us with an office free of charge and who enabled us to employ Tony Cox, who has served PAPYRUS so well for so many years.
Many of you may wonder about the name PAPYRUS. Initially the name we decided upon was “Parents Association for the Prevention of Young Suicide”, however this seemed too long a title to have much impact. When my husband and I looked at the initials PAPYS, with a little bit of artistic licence we came up with the acronym PAPYRUS. This seemed so appropriate as our son was very interested in Egyptology and had visited Egypt twice in his short life. Also in Egyptian Mythology, papyrus means, joy, youth, eternal life and that which is mysterious. Make of that what you will!
I became the first Chair of PAPYRUS and remained so for three years, after which I felt it was time to move on. Anne Parry then took over. I would like to thank her for so ably taking |
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Dear Friends
As usual there’s plenty going on within PAPYRUS. |
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Four new members of staff have been appointed to man HOPElineUK, and all are eager to get the helpline up and running.
Congratulations to our three patrons who were re-elected as Members of Parliament in the recent general election. In March, several Trustees and members met with David Hanson and David Heathcoat-Amory (both of whom are very keen to support us in any way they can) in the House of Commons.
If you have an issue within PAPYRUS’s remit please let us know so that we can lobby government. Our Internet Campaign has certainly been worth while – we do feel that key people have not only listened but have taken on board some of the points we have made.
As you know the Annual Members’ Meeting and AGM will be held in Manchester on October the 8th. Send your booking form to the office as soon as possible - especially if you want to visit 42nd Street on the Friday afternoon. Hopefully many of you will be staying at the Castlefield Hotel on Friday night when we’ll have an opportunity to meet, eat and chat!
If you would like to become more actively involved in PAPYRUS you may want to consider becoming a Trustee. Because of the vast geographical spread of our membership - and hence our Trustees - meetings take place in three different parts of the country – Preston, Birmingham and London. Tony and Denise in the office would be more than happy to give you further information about the role of Trustees – give them a call.
I just finally want to say thank you to all of you who raise funds for PAPYRUS. Sadly your efforts are all too often instigated by the loss or near loss of someone close to you. We’re very much aware of this and greatly appreciate the confidence you have in us. Sincerely, Anne Parry |
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PAPYRUS forward - the time and energy required for such a task is considerable and she is doing an excellent job. So too are all the other trustees and my special thanks go to those who have been involved since the beginning.
It is gratifying for me to see how much PAPYRUS has progressed and how, out of the great personal pain and loss of so many of you, good has come. Of course we will never know how many, if any, lives we have saved, but we do know that we have tried our best. It is a very fitting tribute to those we have lost. With all good wishes Jean Kerr · the organisation has subsequently become known as PAPYRUS, Prevention of Young Suicide. |
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Dear Anne
‘I thought I’d just send you a brief note having just seen the Newsletter for Spring 2005 to congratulate you and all your colleagues on an excellent product both in form and substance. I am so proud to have had an association with your organisation and wish it every success.’
From former trustee, Peter Phillips. |
