08 Oct The Baton has left, but a legacy of Hope remains

Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together – and when the planets align in perfect symmetry, it is easy to forget just how much hard work and planning went on behind the scenes.

I am thinking in particular about the suicide prevention initiative, the Baton of Hope, that came to Torbay last week and caused a commotion wherever it went, sparking conversations, stirring emotions and spreading love.

For the best part of 16 hours, the Baton (or more to the point, those who carried it) spread the message of hope around the Bay – hope that we can finally bring down our shamefully high suicide rate, that remains stubbornly well above the national average.

There were tears, there were smiles, strangers hugged strangers and friends and family supported and encouraged their loved ones; no one was left out, and the bubble around the Baton bearer emanated love and a deep understanding.

Base was the Hope Hub in Princess Gardens, from where the Baton left to a rousing send off by the Rock Choir, carried for the first few hundred yards by headteacher Chris Hallett, who was walking in memory of his father, who died when he was just 13 years old.

He summed up the feelings of the more than 100 baton bearers that were to follow when he said: “Everyone carrying the baton has got their story, whether it’s themselves that have struggled with mental health or they’ve been affected by someone they’ve lost through suicide.

“It’s such a powerful thing to do to share the message.”

The Baton bubble, as it became known, ebbed and flowed as the Baton (think Olympic torch without the flame) changed hands every few hundred yards. The numbers swelled as friends, family, and supporters joined and others left to contemplate their powerfully evoked memories.

Others, though, stuck with it for the duration, swapping stories and experiences, exchanging hugs and reassurances as memories were shared not just with each other, but with anyone that would listen who needed the message of hope.

Smiling faces adorned the backs of t-shirts, each representing a loved one lost – daughters, sons, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers and friends, and tears were shed and smiles were shared for each and every one of them.

When the going got tough, and there were plenty of those times, there was someone alongside to share the burden and to remind you why you were doing this – to focus on hope.

As journalist Mike McCarthy, who co-founded the Baton of Hope organisation after his own son took his life, told everyone: “This is not about death and despair. This is about life and hope.”

In bright sunshine that could not have been ordered, car horns were tooted and shouts of encouragement rang out as the bubble made its way around Torquay before heading off to Paignton, unstoppable and unwavering, only pausing to hand the surprisingly heavy baton from one bearer to the next.

There wasn’t a dry eye when the bubble made its way out towards the Grand Hotel, and the baton was handed to one elderly lady who had lost not just one, but two sons to suicide, and she expressed the hope that one day she would be reunited with them.

From Paignton, the modes of transport changed with motorbikes whisking it up to South Devon College before the walking procession resumed and crossed the town to board the steam train to Churston.

David, carrying the Baton of Hope past Berry Head Hotel

From there, a one-day-old Stagecoach electric bus took the bubble onto Brixham Rugby Club whilst the baton rode in a replica of the KITT car from the Knight Rider TV series.

From Astley Park, it was carried in relay up to the significant edge of Berry Head, where I had the privilege of carrying it, accompanied by the friends who helped prevent my own planned suicide, down to Shoalstone. I was also carrying it for a friend who witnessed a suicide at Berry Head just a year ago.

It was intense, it was very emotional, but in the final analysis, I smiled from ear to ear, imbued with hope as I handed the baton onto the next and watched as, accompanied appropriately by Pirates, it travelled through Brixham to be whisked across the water and back to its starting point by the RNLI lifeboat.

On average, 20 people a year die by suicide in Torbay, and 2,700 people a year are affected by it. The Baton has given us all hope that we can bring that figure down, hopefully one day to zero.