Mental health group set up in brother's memory

A 36-year-old is starting a new mental health support group for men, 10 years after his brother took his own life.

Jamie Johnson, from Hilton, Derbyshire, said the issues his brother Mark was facing were "completely solvable" and he feels Mark would have been keen to set the group up with him had he still been alive.

Mr Johnson said there was nowhere for men in his area to discuss their issues and he was keen for his fortnightly sessions to fill that void.

"It's going to be a place for an everyday man to go and discuss their problems that they're having," he said.

"Hopefully as a hive mind, we can help to ease some of those issues that people are facing."

Mr Johnson described his brother as a "jokester and very funny character" who he would read ghost stories with as a child.

"I felt, as his brother, that he could always talk to me, because I knew that I could always talk to him," he said.

However, in 2016, Mark Johnson died at the age of 31, having faced financial problems he hid from his family.

"If he'd had just spoke to somebody about it, then it wouldn't have happened and he wouldn't have taken his own life," his brother said, admitting that the past 10 years have been difficult to deal with.

By starting a new support group, Mr Johnson hopes he can create a community of support to save people in similar circumstances to his late brother.

"If we catch a problem early, it's easily solved; if we don't catch that problem, if we don't discuss that problem, it will evolve, it will fester and it will become something unmanageable," he said.

Mr Johnson said he has been overwhelmed by the response to his initial idea, with numerous people and venues in Hilton wanting to get involved.

"It proves that that community spirit is already there, we just need to tap into it," he said, adding he was unaware of any similar group running in the area.

His new group, Common Ground, will host its first session at The Mease Pavillion, home of Hilton Harriers FC, on 10 January at 16:00 GMT.

Mr Johnson is confident his brother would have been in full support.

"He'd love it. He'd have wanted to set it up with me and that's the really heart-breaking thing," he said.

Looking to the future, he wants his one-year-old son to grow up in an environment where men can openly discuss issues and problems.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, support and advice is available via BBC Action Line.

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