This ​Charity Placed 226 Pairs Of Shoes On Steps For Every Child Lost To Suicide

A charity has placed 226 pairs of children's shoes on the steps of St George's Hall in Liverpool to represent the lives of children who died by suicide in 2017.

The heartbreaking display was set up by Chasing the Stigma charity who teamed up with Radio City Talk to highlight the tragic fatality rate.

It goes without saying that the prospect of one child dying to suicide is devastating, but 226 is just shocking beyond belief.

The powerful image of the display has since been shared more than 15,000 times on social media, with thousands of people praising the campaign for delivering such a powerful message in such a poignant way.

Jake Mills set up Chasing the Stigma to provide hope for people after attempting his own suicide five years ago.

He told PRETTY52: "We have been working closely with Radio City Talk and Presenter Mick Coyle for a number of years, around the stations Mental Health Monday programme.

Chasing the Stigma

"Following last year's award winning 24 hour live radio broadcast dedicated to Mental Health, we wanted to take that conversation out to the public. With the shows 100th episode falling at the beginning of children's mental health week it made sense to address the devastating numbers of suicides in young people.

"The statistics are utterly heart breaking but for many people, they either aren't aware of the numbers or the reality of the figures doesn't hit home. Behind every statistic is a life needlessly and tragically lost. We wanted to get that across and so decided to use shoes as a visual representation of those lives.

"Working alongside other charities and organisations such as Papyrus and the Oscar Phillips Foundation we were able to create a campaign that not only raised awareness of the issue but importantly awareness of the help and support that is available."

The charity also set up an app called Hub of Hope, which allows people to enter their location and find sources of mental health support near you.

Anyone struggling with their mental health can contact Samaritans 24 hours a day on 116 123.

Topics: Life News, Mental Health, Real

Emma Rosemurgey

Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Junior Journalist at Tyla. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining the team in 2017. Contact her on [email protected]

@emmarosemurgey