Fund's work is bittersweet legacy, stepdad says

Peter Scutts (pictured with Elliott's mother Kerry Holmes) said the fund's work had created a "bittersweet legacy"

The stepfather of a teenager who took his own life has said helping other young people get mental health support has been "bittersweet".

The Elliott Holmes Memorial Fund was established in 2021 in memory of the 19-year-old from Istead Rise near Gravesend.

Since then, it has helped more than 370 young people access mental health counselling.

Elliott's stepfather, Peter Scutts, said he wanted to continue building on the community ethos of the Gravesham-based service and hoped the model would be used in other areas.

He said: "It's a bittersweet legacy. We have lost Elliott but at least some good is coming out of this.

"We have learned that the mental health crisis in our young people is out of control.

"There's a huge resource out there just waiting to be deployed."

The fund was set up in memory of Elliott Holmes, who took his own life aged 19

Mr Scutts said Elliott experienced mental health problems as a young boy, which worsened during the pandemic.

He said the fund, set up in 2021, had helped 374 young people access "untapped" private counselling, including more than 200 since the beginning of 2024.

The result, he said, was that the service had no waiting list.

It has also garnered support from Gravesham MP Dr Lauren Sullivan, who raised an early day motion in support of the fund's work in February.

Mr Scutts said he wanted to ensure the fund was kept on a local level in order to have the biggest impact in Gravesham, adding: "When it goes outside of Gravesham these young people become a statistic."

He added that he hoped the model, which focussed on empowering young people to self-refer for support and removing barriers to access, could be used to inspire similar services across Kent.

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