Monaghan woman Mary Lamb along with Colm Finnan and Paula Treanor are raising funds in memory of her nephew Ben Lamb O'Sullivan, who was only 34 years of age when he lost his life to suicide. On the 29th of June this year, the three locals will climb 3 Peaks in one day in memory of Ben and to raise much needed funds for SOSAD.
They will include - Muckish Mountain, Mount Errigal and Slieve Donard. As part of their fundraising efforts, the group have organised a midsummer family 5k which will take place tomorrow evening in Rossmore Park at 7.30pm. Speaking to Northern Sound, Ben's aunt Mary said that she hopes this initiative will help break the stigma around mental health when it comes to people looking for help. According to Mary, not only was her nephew an influential music tutor to many young people across the local area, he was also the 'go to' person when it came to offering advice and support to his many friends in their time of need. "He was the sort of person who helped his own friends if they ever felt down and was a great person to give advice and encourage others to seek help if they were struggling," explained Mary. "I know it's very hard for people to pick up a phone and ask for help, but please do. The contact number for Monaghan SOSAD is 047 723 75 and calls are answered everyday between 10am and 5pm. After that calls are forwarded on to the 24 hour answering service, people can also ring this service directly on 1800 901 909."
Also speaking to Northern Sound, Paula Treanor encouraged locals to show their support at tomorrow evening's fun walk/run. “It’s great for families to come together. We would really encourage people, families, walkers, runners, absolutely anyone and everyone to come out and support us. We would love to see a great turn-out of people for such a worthy cause," Paula explained.
