“I always said after Jamie died, I would never shy away from how he died” – Why a Salford charity are helping people who lost loved ones to suicide

A charity in Salford run a ‘bereaved by suicide’ support group every month for people to talk about losing their loved ones to suicide.

Tammy Pike, 49, set up the support group years after her brother, Jamie Horrocks, committed suicide.

The support group is part of the Jamie Horrocks Trust. The trust was founded by Jamie’s family in 2013 after Jamie’s death. He was 37 years old.

Tammy said: “Jamie was really popular in the local area. He was a firefighter known by so many people.

“When Jamie died, we had a lot of people wanting to donate and give money.

“Initially, we set it up as a fundraising page for people to give to that. We gave the money to CAMHS and the fire service benevolent fund.

“And then over the next few years people wanted to carry on raising money.

“Probably around three or four years ago we felt we could do something a little bit more focused in the name of Jamie.

“We decided then, as a family, to set up as an official charity.”

The charity’s main focus is raising awareness about mental health and delivering support sessions to people who are affected by mental health and suicide.

Around two years ago, Tammy said she realised there was a gap to deliver help more locally to people who have been bereaved by suicide.

Tammy said: “There are a number of groups across Manchester but they’re quite a bit away from us.

“So, we set up a local group, and we’re there every month for people to just come along and drop in if needed.

“We just provide a safe space for people there to talk about losing a loved one to suicide. It’s what’s called complex grief.”

The group meet at Hamilton Davies House in Cadishead from 6pm to 7.30pm.

Tammy said: “People often feel difficulty talking to family and friends because there’s a lot of things you probably want to say but it can feel quite uncomfortable.

“We also find that when someone dies to suicide, people find it a really difficult subject matter to talk about.

“I always said after Jamie died, I would never shy away from how he died.

“I love my brother dearly and I’m so proud of him, regardless of everything we’ve been through as a family.

“So, we said from day one that we’d never hide how he died.

“It’s still quite a taboo subject and people still find it quite uncomfortable.

“But that’s the whole point of doing what we’re doing.”