We are 3 Dads Walking.

Raising Suicide Awareness Across the Country One Step at a Time

Raising awareness.

Suicide is the biggest killer of those under 35 in the UK. We only learned this terrifying fact because our daughters took their own lives. By raising awareness, we hope we can help prevent other families from being devastated by suicide.

3 Dads Walking for HOPELINE247

Ynys Môn/Anglesey 2025

We will walk a complete circuit of the Ynys Môn/Anglesey Coastal Path to raise funds for HOPELINE247 the lifesaving helpline run by PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide.

Suicide is the biggest killer of under 35s in the UK and around 200 teenagers take their own lives in our country each year.

HOPELINE247 is staffed by professional suicide prevention experts who are trained to help young people focus on staying safe from suicide. They provide advice and support that help young people move forward and stay alive.

They are also there for concerned others; if someone is worried that a child or loved one is suffering from thoughts of suicide the HOPELINE247 experts can advise on how to start a conversation about suicide prevention and explore options on how best to support the young person who is struggling.

Up until 2023 this helpline ran from 9am to midnight however during that year PAPYRUS raised sufficient funds to train more advisers so the service could run 24 hours every day of the week. In 2024 PAPYRUS had 12,000 lifesaving interactions during the night and saw a 66% increase in the number of young people seeking help through their webchat service.

This 24/7 service is now under threat.

Like many charities PAPYRUS has seen a significant decline in donations since the cost of living started to impact on discretionary spending. Recently they put out an emergency appeal specifically aimed at raising funds to ensure HOPELINE247 continued to run throughout the night.

Funds raised on our walk will help PAPYRUS maintain the HOPELINE247 service.

Mike lives on Ynys Môn/Anglesey, Andy in Cumbria and Tim in Norfolk all rural areas where mental health services and suicide prevention support are in limited supply. This means that in communities like these HOPELINE247 may be the only thing that can keep young people safe from suicide, particularly in the darkest hours in the middle of the night when other services are not available to them.

On Saturday 14th June we will set off from Mike’s home village of Cemaes Bay and, over the next 8 days, we will walk the entirety of the Ynys Môn/Anglesey Coastal Path (over 10 miles) before finishing our circuit back at Cemaes Bay on Saturday 21st.

Hope Can’t Wait Until Morning — Help HOPELINE247 Save Lives Through the Night.

Meet The Dads

 
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Mike - Beth’s Dad

I could not possibly love Beth more and not to have her physically in my life is beyond devastating. Never to hear her say ‘Love you Dad’ again is beyond comprehension. That terrible word ‘suicide’ and Beth never belong in the same sentence. It is always something that happens to someone else, but not this time, it happened to my family and me. Read More…

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Andy - Sophie’s Dad

Born & bred in Cumbria and I have spent much of my life living, working and playing on and around the Lake District fells. I live with my family, Fiona & Gregor, in the Eden valley. Our lives were sent on a completely unforeseen trajectory when our daughter, Sophie, took her own life on December 19th 2018. Read More…

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Tim - Emily’s Dad

I have lived in Norfolk for years, and that is where Emily was born and brought up, in a small village to the west of the county. My family’s world turned upside down when, on the 18th March 2020, Emily decided she couldn’t cope with life under lockdown and attempted to take her own life. Read More…

 

Meet The Girls

 
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Beth

Beth was such a happy loving child, always surrounded by friends and family she was incredibly popular with her wit and zest for life. Her passing has had a huge effect on so many lives. Daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin and friend. She is so deeply missed by so very many people. Read More…

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Sophie

Sophie was a beautiful little girl with the blondest of hair and broadest of smiles who grew up to be a beautiful young woman who lit up every room she entered. Throughout her life Sophie came across as an open, happy person who was extremely sociable. She was gregarious, good fun and was always able to raise a smile. Read More…

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Emily

Emily lived life at a million miles an hour, a free-spirit with no limits, charging around in her beloved Mini and travelling to Cornwall as often as possible – a place she so loved. Most people saw Emily as this ‘beautiful, funny, talented but slight crazy young lady’ as one of her friends described her. Read More…