HEALTH AND WELLBEING: A Savills agent has raised enough funds to open a non-clinical crisis centre for young men at high risk of suicide, in memory of his brother.
Harry Wentworth-Stanley told an industry audience of more than 100 at the John O’Halloran Symposium in London on Tuesday that it was vital to tackle the shocking fact that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45.
His brother James took his own life in 2006 at 21 years of age when he was in his second year at Newcastle University. He had become increasingly anxious following a successful, routine operation.
“James went to a walk-in health centre in Newcastle and was referred to A&E. He waited there for four hours after being given a status equivalent to a toothache. He walked out without being seen and two days later he took his own life,” said Wentworth-Stanley.
The first James’ Place centre to support men at high risk of suicide will open this year in a council owned building in the Georgian Quarter of Liverpool.
“Our intention is not to stop in Liverpool, but to haves a James’ Place in every major city in the UK,” Wentworth-Stanley said.
The first centre will be funded and operated for the first year using the £600,000 raised by Wentworth-Stanley and three friends through the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.
The group completed the 3,000 mile unsupported race from San Sebastian in the Canary Islands to Nelson’s Dockyard English Harbour, Antigua in January after 39 days at sea. They came second in the race.
Speaking at the symposium, Wentworth-Stanley and teammate Rory Buchanan said there were many parallels between their experiences during the race and the wider issues of mental ill health.
“It gave me space and time to think, which was something I didn’t do in my life before,” said Buchanan. “Conversation and confidence in each other was central. We were there for each other whenever there was a particularly bad moment.”
Wentworth-Stanley recalled how the team’s first sunrise at sea marked the 10th anniversary of his brother’s death.
Find out more about James’ Place >>
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