“We were just a normal, working family” says Kathy Lynch as she recounts the worst day of her life: “You think it’s not going to happen to you, but the reality is that it does.” Kathy is talking about the loss of her son Harrison Lynch who tragically died in 2023 after taking his own life. Harrison was just 20.
Trigger warning: mentions suicide
He was fine the night before
Kathy adds:
One of his friends was gaming with Harrison the night before he died and she said he was absolutely fine, laughing and joking. So you’re left with a thousand questions and the sheer weight of the loss is indescribable, the not knowing why, it’s like an open wound that’s never going to heal.
According to friends and family, Harrison seemed to be a happy young man, full of life and with big ambitions. He was working a job he loved at The Weld Blundell restaurant in Lydiate and was hoping to work his way up.
Kathy said Harrison was very intelligent and an avid gamer who even built his own computer. He was also quiet, she adds, shunning nights out in the city centre to play games online with his friends. For Kathy, and so many others left behind after someone dies by suicide, there were no signs of the traumatic events which would come to shape the rest of their lives.
Nothing to suggest anything like this
Kathy:
There was nothing really untoward, there was nothing to suggest that he was gonna do anything and he was really open and honest. He knew he could speak to me and he was really close to my daughter Jess and his older brother Ben. We were a really close-knit family.
Kathy works with the district nurse team in Formby and on August 1, 2023, she was making her usual visits. When Kathy arrived back at the clinic, one of her colleagues rang and said she should go home immediately.
Kathy recalls:
My colleagues knew the circumstances already, so they drove me home. I was on the phone to the paramedics that were in the house, and I know they didn’t want to tell me, but I just had to ask the question, ‘was he alive?’, and they had to tell me, ‘no’.
Kathy said the loss of Harrison has been a trauma felt by the whole family, and especially for Jess, who was the person who found him, and also her son, Ben.
Reflecting on the impact of Harrison’s loss, Kathy said:
The feeling is still one of devastating shock. It’s the most awful feeling, the severity of it just overwhelms you. I was probably in shock for a good two days after it, and then it sinks in.
You never get over it, you never manage it, you’ve just got to learn to live with it, but I think about what happened every day.
Over 400 deaths by suicide a year for teens and young people
A recent report by the Office for National Statistics found that between the ten year period between 2011 and 2022, there were 4,315 deaths by suicide for children and young people aged between 15 and 25. In the period 2021-22, there were a total of 440 deaths, compared to 300 in the year 2011-12, representing a 47% increase.
Like many people who have lost someone to suicide, Kathy said she feels a profound sense of helplessness, questioning why it happened and the torture of wondering whether there was anything that could have been done:
Harrison never left a note so there was no sense of knowing the reasons or even if there were specific reasons.
That’s why I look at places like PAPYRUS (Parents’ Association for the Prevention of Young Suicide) as so important because they save young people’s lives when they feel there’s nowhere to turn.
PAPYRUS is dedicated to prevent young people suicide
As a way of paying tribute to Harrison, Kathy and her daughter Jess have completed various charity fundraisers for PAPYRUS and have now joined with community organisers to facilitate The Harrison Lynch Youth Football Tournament in Maghull to raise awareness and support for PAPYRUS’ work.
PAPYRUS UK is a charity for the prevention of young suicide, dedicated to the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing. Ged Flynn, PAPYRUS chief executive, said:
We would like to say a big thank you to Harrison’s family and friends for supporting the vital work we do.
Money raised by this fundraising event in his memory will help us to give hope to young people who are struggling with life.
We believe that many young suicides are preventable and together we can all help to keep our communities suicide-safe.
Helping organise the tournament is Cllr David Leatherbarrow who is looking at projects to support young people in Maghull, he said:
After hearing about the loss of Harrison and being inspired by the hard work his family have put into raising support for youth suicide, I felt a local cup was a positive way to memorialise him and keep his memory alive.
The Harrison Lynch Youth Football Tournament starts on Monday October 27 at Maghull High School.
You can find out more about the work of PAPYRUS HERE: https://www.papyrus-uk.org/aboutus/
A press release by Local Democracy Reporter Elliot Jessett
