Two mums bereaved to suicide will be taking on the Great North Run for the first time whilst wearing special tribute tops dedicated to 150 loved ones lost in the region. Suzanne Howes from Gosforth and Mary Dodds from Cramlington are supporting the suicide bereavement charity Quinn's Retreat.
Suzanne lost her 17 year old son Samuel to suicide five years ago and Mary's daughter Morgan was just 15 when she died by suicide in 2015. A team of 10 runners, including the charity founder, families and friends of lost loved ones will be wearing the special tribute shirts carrying the names.
Quinn's Retreat, founded by Tracey and David Beadle of Shildon, following the loss of both of their children, Dyllon and Quinn, to suicide provides free respite breaks to the those struggling with their mental health or following suicide loss.
"We are determined to highlight the devastating impact of suicide loss and the importance of shining a light on the precious loved ones we have all lost. We proudly carry their names," said Suzanne. Both mums who met through the charity are now trustees.
The pair are part of the team that created the 'speak their name Memorial quilt' honouring 77 lives lost to suicide, whose names are now on the shirts. Suzanne said: "As there's a lot of suicides in the North East, since making the quilt we reached out to the suicide loss community and people came forward asking for their loved ones names to included.
"People have told us that it's a lovely idea and they get a boost from seeing their loved ones names still out there. That's really important to us and making a difference. We know that some of the people whose names we are carrying with us have done the great North run before or their relatives will be out there cheering us on."
Suzanne will be running alongside her son and daughter on Sunday, just days after marking five years since the family tragically lost Samuel. "It's my son's anniversary on Tuesday, September 2, so I know it will be kind of like an emotional week all around. It feels like a fitting tribute."
But running has given the mums an outlet to focus on after their devastating losses. Suzanne continued: "We're quite novice. We volunteered to do it about a year ago, and I said to Mary, if we run with our children on our fronts we'll get through it. And then we said actually let's go further and take other people with us on our journey."
Quinn's Retreat currently has two caravans in Barnard Castle and Appleby that are both are fully booked all year round. They are hoping to raise money to buy a property this time, as Suzanne says "demand for the service is huge sadly."
"Often when people are bereaved by suicide it's so overwhelming to be able to just go away somewhere - a break can be a real lifeline for people. It really does make a difference in peoples outlook and ability to kind of carry on, and have a bit of healing while they're away.
"It can change your mindset as well, which I think is important, because you can go down a rabbit hole in suicide loss and people are at a real risk of mental real health as well. This is a simple idea, and it just works."
Suzanne who has been enjoying training on coastal runs and hopes the weather will be kind on the big day, ends explaining that being part of the charity has given her "that sense of purpose." She said: "We've all become a bit of a community now and you're spurred on to be part of something bigger, which keeps your child's memory alive as well.
"People just get it - you don't have to do any of that awkwardness or explaining. It's that commonality that no one could ever want, but you get that warmth from people as well that helps you to find a bit of meaning going forward." You can donate to the fundraiser for Quinn's Retreat here.