Charity praises friends for fundraising efforts

A MENTAL health charity will be able to support more men in Dumfries thanks to a massive fundraising effort by a group who lost their friend to suicide.

Davie Fraser, Tina Fraser, Scott Dunsmore, Paul Henderson, Steve Quigley and Clint Langan walked 120 miles earlier this year in memory of their beloved friend, Leroy Langan.

In March, they stepped out from Beattock to his favourite fishing spot in Portpatrick via the Southern Upland Way.

Their walk raised awareness around men’s mental health and suicide prevention, as well as raising over £13,000 for Change Mental Health.

The friends requested the charity use the funds on developing more clubs for men locally. These clubs will enable men to start talking about their own mental health, while sharing stories and experiences.

Davie Fraser said: “Losing Leroy to suicide came as a huge shock and brought the issue of men’s mental health into sharp focus for many of us.

“We felt we had to do something to help raise awareness of the problem of escalating male suicide rates, while raising some money for a local charity.

“The team at Change Mental Health were very supportive of our challenge throughout, and have been good enough to keep us updated with the spending of the funds raised.

“We are particularly delighted to see that a fishing club is now up and running.”

The charity has started spending the funds on upgrading a local allotment for its gardening club and are in the early stages of developing a fishing club.

In addition, they deliver a range of services in Dumfries, including the Employability Support Project in Munches Street. It improves knowledge, skills and confidence to support people in breaking down barriers to accessing paid employment, volunteering or further education.

Change spokesman John Scott said: “It has a been a privilege to get to know Davie and his friends following their tremendous efforts of walking over 100 miles for Leroy.

“They have become familiar faces at our service to see the work we’re doing for mental health in the community.

“It’s donations like these that allow us to do things we may otherwise not have been able to afford. The allotment club project is a good example of that.”