A BIT ABOUT DREW
Andrew Horne AKA Drew Brooklyn sadly decided to take his life 5 years ago on April the 13th 2019 :( He left behind a sea of heartbroken friends and family across the Atlantic; from Pennsylvania and New York USA (where he went to school) to his second home, London and St Ives in the UK.
He was a beautiful untamed spirit, that loved fiercely and touched so many. Drew was the life and soul of the party. Full of boyish charm, he'd entice many to conversate and laugh with him, by flashing his that big gregarious smile! But unfortunately, behind that big smile also lay sadness and inner turmoil :(
It was a huge shock to us all and the news of his passing sent shockwaves throughout West London (where he was living), and beyond. It was a hard pill to swallow and it left us all thinking; what could we have done to prevent this, could we have done things differently? Unfortunately, these are questions we may never find the answers to, but what it did do, was bring our local friendship group a lot closer 🙏🏽. It made us check in on each other more regularly, and opened up many conversations, allowing us to express our feelings more, safe in the knowledge there was someone to reach out to, someone to share your problems with. This is definitely Drew's legacy and for that we are all truly grateful, albeit extremely sad to have lost our beautiful friend.
MENTAL HEALTH
Mental health has been at the forefront of the news and social media, especially since lockdown, however it is still a bit of a taboo and often people suffer in silence, finding it hard to tell others how they are feeling. I myself have suffered with my mental health issues over the years and suffered multiple overdoses... in those dark moments it can feel impossible and scary to reach out to anyone.
Sadly almost 75% of suicides are male and 38% of suicides in the 25 - 44yrs age range (statistics from Gov.uk for 2023). Andrew was 31 when he died.
With this fundraiser and doing the Yoekshire 3 Peaks Challenge, I hope not only to raise money for Drew's Bench but also raise awareness about suicide, specifically for young men who are battling with their mental health and suicidal ideation.
YORKSHIRE THREE PEAKS CHALLENGE
On Saturday 20th April 2024, myself and 2 of my friends will be doing the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge, hiking across Pen-Y-Gent, Whernside and Ingleborough in under 12hrs. My aim is to raise money for Drew's memorial bench, the cost currently being between £2k - £2.5k. This is for a bench in Ravenscourt Park, West London, where Drew often enjoyed walks through. Any extra money raised will be donated to men's suicide intervention and prevention specialists: Men's Minds Matter.
MEN'S MINDS MATTER
Men’s Minds Matter have been raising awareness of male suicide for over a decade. They continue to produce award winning campaigns that bring suicide higher up on the priority list and help fundraise for male suicide.
In 2016, they shifted their focus on to developing psychological interventions for people at risk of suicide. In 2021, they launched the Men’s Minds Matter model of Psychological Entrapment and Suicidal Crisis.
This is the only model of its kind which captures the suicidal experience in its entirety. It’s already saving lives in the therapy room, but know they are just at the beginning.
Their aim is to get their intervention out to as many people as possible through their digital platforms. They use the money from fundraisers for this purpose. Without fundraisers they wouldn’t be able to continue with this work. Help fundraise for male suicide.
DREW'S BENCH
We feel Drew deserves to be remembered and wanted to have a place that we can all go to, to remember him and feel close to him; for his family, the Shepherds Bush #DrewCrew and any of his friends and relatives from America who might be visiting London. We also hope that anyone who might be feeling sad or struggling with their mental health will be able to take some time out in our beautiful local park and visit Drew's bench. A place to remember you are loved, you're not alone and there is help out there for you.
Drew, your life was not in vain but your death is a stark reminder of the demons many people face and struggle with...we love and miss you dearly. You are and always will be: FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS 💙
Please help by donating and sharing this page and help raise awareness.