17/11/2025
Rest in peace Lara 💔
Like anyone who walked or worked alongside her, I was utterly heartbroken to learn last night that , dedicated mental health and su***de prevention advocate, known and loved by so many of us in this space, took her own life on Friday.
I met Lara a few times over the past 2.5 years. Initially we met through the , prompting a stream of mutual support around our Brighton day in 2023, and the day she led in Portsmouth recently.
.. I met her again when she completed the two-day ASIST workshop with us in Brighton last year (with Lily by her side of course 🐾)
.. And most recently our work overlapped with the memorial website and quilts.
She was surrounded on all sides by people who cared deeply for her, who knew ‘what to say and do’, who knew about her struggles. And still, she is gone.
A sobering, devastating reminder that, despite the kindest words, the most active of listening, the offers of well-meaning and meaningful support, the best training in the world, and the knowledge that a caring conversation CAN save a life - that sometimes, tragically, it can’t.
What can we do this week? I’m feeling somewhat lost, and brain-muddled, but here are some thoughts.
🐾 Check in regularly with friends who are ‘visible’ as well as ‘invisible’.
🐾 Remember that heart-led work (like advocacy, caring, activism, speaking with lived experience), despite often being its own reward, takes its toll. Carers need caring for too.
🐾 We never truly know what someone is going through.
🐾 ‘Safety for now’ (as taught in the ASIST course) is sometimes as short and crucial as ‘safety for the next five minutes’.
Lara, you will not be forgotten 💔
Photograph of vibrant Lara and her beloved Lily taken in May 2024 when she stayed with my family in Brighton, for the ***deandco walk along the seafront. I remember this moment vividly; one of those “oh wow! Stop right there! I need to take your picture!” shrieking-with-laughter moments ❤️