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Suicide prevention tour documentary to premiere

Tom MacDougall
BBC News, South Yorkshire
BATON OF HOPE Mike McCarthy, a man with short, white hair and a short, white beard. He's holding the "Baton of Hope", which is silver and gold.BATON OF HOPE
Baton of Hope co-founder Mike McCarthy said he wanted people to understand "suicide is everyone's business"

A documentary film about a suicide awareness and prevention campaign that toured the UK will premiere in Sheffield.

The Baton of Hope relay passed through 12 cities in 12 days - from Glasgow to London - in 2023.

The film, called Raising the Baton: A Manifesto for Hope will be shown at Sheffield's Millennial Gallery on Thursday.

Event co-founder Mike McCarthy, who lives in the city, said: "It's just so special to me and my family to be able to show this documentary in our home city."

SIMON THAKE/BBC Will Vaulks waling with the baton outside Hillsborough Park. He is wearing a blue T-shirt with the words "Baton of Hope" and photographs on it. He is holding the baton.SIMON THAKE/BBC
Footballer Will Vaulks, who lost both his grandfathers to suicide, took part in the relay in Sheffield

Mr McCarthy lost his son to suicide in 2021 and founded the Baton of Hope charity with Steve Phillip from Harrogate, whose son, Jordan, died in 2019.

At the time, the Olympic-style baton relay, which passed through Sheffield on its way to 10 Downing Street - was billed as the UK's largest ever suicide awareness and prevention campaign.

Mr McCarthy said his son, who left a message asking his family to campaign for better mental health support, had "a lot of affection" for Sheffield.

"The thought of a documentary which, in some ways, celebrates his life and honours him is something which means so much to me that I can't really describe it," said Mr McCarthy.

'People ready to talk'

The baton event is set to return in September but will this time visit 20 locations over 40 days.

The charity said applications from bereaved loved ones to carry the baton had already exceeded the target of 1,000.

Mr McCarthy said people had described it as the "perfect opportunity to honour a loved one that they lost - and that they didn't have to whisper it".

He said "people are ready to talk about this previously taboo subject and tired of ignoring it".

"Never in our wildest dreams did we expect the campaign to take off in the way that it did," he added.

"We're trying to encourage people to understand that suicide is everyone's business - we all have the power within us to generate hope."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, or catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Baton of Hope