Bereaved family backs Birmingham mental health campaign

Carla Long said her brother Owen was thoughtful and charismatic

Family and friends of a charity fundraiser who took his own life are backing a campaign to encourage people to talk about their mental health.

Owen Long, who died last year aged 30, took part in hundreds of charity events and was said to have believed in small acts of kindness.

His sister Carla Long hopes people will share their feelings as part of the "Let's Talk Brum" initiative.

She said he cared for others but found it hard to seek the help he needed.

His family is working with Birmingham Mind and raising money for the charity which uses slogans for the campaign such as "speak to me".

Ms Long remembered her brother as "charismatic, thoughtful and magnetic" and listed among his gestures occasions when he sent kind messages in Valentine's Day cards to residents in a local care home.

She added however: "He was an advocate for others and was the first one to say something needs to be done, but he found it difficult for himself."

Owen Long supported charities through events and fundraising

Mr Long was an ambassador for Love Brum, a charity highlighting projects and causes in the city.

But he battled with depression and was hit hard by his mother's death.

Ms Long said he also suffered as a result of the Covid pandemic and lockdowns.

"I think Owen was one of many that suffered with the isolation and the loneliness of Covid," she said.

"Lots of people lost their jobs, Owen was one of them, so then you've got the financial strains which comes along with the loneliness."

Mr Long's mantra on social media was "small acts of kindness make the world go round"

The family backs the campaign, hoping to get men in particular to talk about their struggles.

It is also in recognition that taking one's own life is the biggest cause of death for men under 50 in the UK.

"There seems to be this bravado-type image that needs to be lived up to, that men don't talk about their feelings; big boys don't cry, that kind of thing that needs to be broken to make a change, definitely," Ms Long said.

Family and friends of Owen Long are backing the campaign

Kerrie Henry-Edge, fundraising officer at Birmingham Mind, said of the campaign: "It just encourages more and more people to realise actually it is okay not to be okay.

"So "speak to me" and Let's Talk Brum - that's what it's all about, everybody needs to talk."

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