3 Dads Walking in memory of their daughters, Emily, Beth & Sophie
We're encouraging the UK governments to add suicide awareness to the school curriculum
A Walk of Hope 2024
3 suicide-bereaved dads walking in memory of our daughters Emily, Beth & Sophie raising funds for
@PAPYRUS_Charity
Our 500-mile route will link PAPYRUS offices in Stirling, Newcastle, Leeds Hull & Norwich
Together we can save lives
On World Suicide Prevention Day remembering our beautiful daughters Sophie, Emily and Beth. A candle each in their memory and all those other precious young souls who have taken their own lives.
3 Dads, 3 Homes, 4 UK Parliaments
We are 3 suicide-bereaved dads walking in memory of our daughters Emily, Beth & Sophie, raising funds for
@PAPYRUS_Charity
and encouraging conversation about
#SuicidePrevention
Please help us spread the word & save lives
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day
This photo was taken on this day last year when we were walking between the UK parliaments spreading a message of hope.
There is help out there but we need to smash the stigma around suicide and get talking about suicide prevention
#WSPD2023
Day 31 - Putney Bridge to Westminster (the finish)
Wow! What a day! We were joined by dozens & dozens of people - all wanting to support our campaign to get suicide prevention added to the school curriculum.
Take a look at our blog to see what we've done:
Thank you to everyone who has followed us on
@Twitter
- this evening we've hit 10,000 followers. Quite a feat for 3 crusty old dads! thx to
@keswickbootco
for a final push
Everything we do on here is in memory of our daughters -Sophie, Beth & Emily.
Keep talking and save lives
What a surreal day. Started walking at 0530 with dozens of people, many suicide bereaved parents. We all got soaked in the walk to Westminster then in the evening we won the
@JustGiving
Team of the Year Award ..
Suicide is the biggest killer of young people in the UK.
Pls sign our petition and help encourage the politicians to make a life saving change to the school curriculum:
If you've signed already pls RT and help spread our campaign
3 Dads, 3 Homes, 300 Miles
We are 3 suicide-bereaved dads walking in memory of our daughters - Emily, Beth & Sophie - raising funds for
@PAPYRUS_tweets
and encouraging conversation about
#SuicidePrevention
Please help us spread the word & save lives
Our petition is approaching 140,000. At the moment it’s the 4th biggest on the
@GOVUK
petition page. Please keep signing and sharing - we need to keep pressure on the government. Talking about suicide saves lives.
#helpsaveyounglives
#SuicidePrevention
Great news from the Petitions Committee.
Our petition is going to be debated in Parliament on 13th March.
Please take time to email your MP, point them at this and ask them to attend.
We plan to be there.
Today at Westminster
Our petition to get suicide prevention added to the school curriculum will be debated at 4.30pm
Our campaign will feature in
@BBCBreakfast
,
@bbc5live
,
@BBCRadioManc
,
@BBC_Cumbria
&
@BBCNorfolk
(amongst many other)
Talking about suicide prevention saves lives
Well….there’s a thing. To be given a platform with these legends is completely surreal. Thank you. We need to keep shouting about
#SuicidePrevention
and
@PAPYRUS_Charity
We were stunned (yet again) by receiving support from all quarters. Getting this message from Daniel Craig means a lot because it helps us amplify our message. Thank you.
James Bond actor Daniel Craig has backed three fathers whose daughters died by suicide.
Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen, known as 3 Dads Walking, are walking to all 4 UK Parliaments to raise awareness.
They were shown the message on
#BBCBreakfast
Our petition calling for suicide prevention to be made a compulsory part of the school curriculum will be debated in Parliament on March 13th
Suicide is the biggest killer of young people in this country
Pls write to your MP and ask them to attend
Thnx
Since we started along the 3 Dads Walking road we have met many inspirational people. This morning we met another one, Kevin Sinfield.
Through his love for his mate, Rob, he has shown us all how to be better people.
It was a privilege to meet this great man.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way.
We always saw the money raised as a bit of a by-product (awareness of suicide prevention being the real output)....but WHAT a by-product!
This will enable
@PAPYRUS_Charity
to accelerate their development plans
Exciting news to share! Our
@3dadswalking
have now raised more than £1 million! 🎉👏
Read more about their amazing achievements here
Andy, Mike and Tim - We are so proud 💜
Our petition calling for suicide prevention to be made a compulsory part of the school curriculum will be debated in Parliament on March 13th
Suicide is the biggest killer of young people in this country
Pls write to your MP and ask them to attend
Thnx
290 miles done! Today is the last LONG day for
#3Dadswalking
- The Wash to Kings Lynn - 25.5 miles.
We finish in Shouldham tomorrow. Thanks for all the support. We couldn’t have done this without the people behind us
@PAPYRUS_tweets
#SuicidePrevention
2 images from 3 Dads Walking UK2022
Sophie, Beth & Emily on World Suicide Prevention Day, Sept 10th; the day we began our walk from Edinburgh
Carrying our daughters as we finished at Westminster on Oct 10th, World Mental Health Day
Pls help us save lives:
It's been a month since we finished our walk in memory of Sophie, Beth & Emily
Our petition to get suicide added to the school curriculum is now 4th biggest on the Govt website. Pls sign & share ensure this is debated in parliament
Thank you to everyone who has supported us on walks and helped us raise funds for
@PAPYRUS_Charity
Yesterday evening our
@JustGiving
total topped £1,000,000 (with GiftAid £1.15m)
Every pound donated will help PAPYRUS save young lives
We'll be back outside Westminster this morning just after 7am speaking to
@alisonjfreeman
on
@BBCBreakfast
about the debate we heard yesterday on our petition to get suicide prevention added to the curriculum.
Plenty of support for our call but no commitment from the government..
After a late finish today we’ve decided to go for a 0715 start in the morning. Sorry if we miss you. Thanks for all the support online & en route. £200k raised so far! Thank you!
Yesterday morning
#3dadswalking
was largely powered by
@GreggsOfficial
Sausage roll, steak bake and cheese & onion pastie - what more do 3 dads walking 600 miles need to keep energy levels up?
On Mon 13th our petition to add suicide to the school curriculum will be debated in parliament
We’ve been on quite a journey to get to this point, let’s hope our decision-makers have heard our message
The debate starts at 4.30pm – you can watch it here:
We've covered a lot of ground since we came together 2 years ago; we've promoted suicide prevention and raised funds for
@PAPYRUS_Charity
We're now within £1300 of the £1,000,000 target on our
@JustGiving
page.
Can you help us get over that line?
Next Monday our petition calling for suicide prevention to be made a compulsory part of the school curriculum will be debated in Parliament
Suicide is the biggest killer of under 35s in the UK
You can help us by writing to your MP to ask them to attend
This morning Andy went to to find and walk with
@speedomick
as he walked towards Penrith
Mick's raising funds for mental health and suicide prevention work.
Get out and give him encouragement and donate if you can:
We are back on
@BBCBreakfast
on Saturday morning.
We will walk from Lisvane Station at 0630 and will be at The Senedd in Cardiff some time after 0900.
For details of our route check our tracker page:
ANNOUNCEMENT - Monday 10th October
We will begin our walk from Putney Bridge at 05:30am, an hour earlier than originally stated
This is so
@BBCBreakfast
can cover us live at 06:30 & 07:30 on our walk to Westminster. Finish is 08:30
@alisonjfreeman
@FloellaBenjamin
@DrNeilHudson
As we leave the Festive Period and the world returns to “normal” we wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone who sent us thoughtful messages, those who donated to
@PAPYRUS_Charity
via our JG page and everyone who signed our petition.
It all makes a difference
Thank you
Thanks to everyone who have supported us since we took our first steps as 3 Dads Walking
Over 157,000 people have signed our petition & 33.500 have donated on our JustGiving page; these interactions have helped raised the issue of suicide prevention across the country
Thank you
Our petition to add suicide prevention to the school curriculum as a compulsory subject comes to and end today with over 160k signatures
Thanks to everyone who has helped us raise this issue with our decision makers; we now need them to make a decision
Back home. Back to normal….?
Not sure that’s the case. After spending the last 5 weeks walking 600 miles with Mike & Tim talking about getting suicide prevention onto the school curriculum the world seems a different place.
#3DadsWalking
Thanks to everyone who has supported us with our petition.
We have reached 10,000 in only 5 days!
Please keep sharing - next target is 10,000. When we achieve that our petition has to be considered for a debate in Parliament
Thanks to all who has signed our petition about getting
#suicideprevention
onto the school curriculum; we've reached the 100k threshold but that doesn't guarantee a debate in the
@HouseofCommons
Please help us keep the pressure on by signing and sharing:
We really appreciate the support you’ve given us since we first met.
Thank you
@mrdanwalker
for helping us spread our message of hope.
Together we can save lives.
Tomorrow we are back in Westminster.
This time to meet
@GillianKeegan
, Secretary of State for Education, to talk about our call to make suicide prevention a compulsory part of the school curriculum.
@BBCBreakfast
will be there & we're back on the red sofa on Tuesday morning.
Great to see
@Just3Mums
on
@BBCBreakfast
this morning, talking about their boys and helping spread the message of hope
Together we can save lives
Help Michelle, Liz and Kim help
@PAPYRUS_Charity
:
Three mums who lost their sons to suicide are to walk 265 miles from Cheshire to Kent to raise awareness of suicide prevention.
Kim, Liz and Michelle spoke to
#BBCBreakfast
The moment we discovered we had won a
@PrideOfBritain
award, shortly after completing our 600-mile walk in memory of our daughters - Emily, Beth & Sophie.
You can help us save more lives by donating to
@PAPYRUS_Charity
& signing our petition
The reason we got off to a late start this morning….
We had a very productive conversation with
@Keir_Starmer
He agreed with us that ignoring the biggest killer of our young people (suicide) didn’t make sense
#SuicidePrevention
#togetherwecansavelives
Congratulations
#MaryEarps
for winning
#SPOTY
Not only a fantastic footballer but also a great person.
Keep talking openly about mental health issues and you’ll save lives as well as goals.
Hey
@TherealNihal
can we ask a favour.? Your current guest has used the phrase “committed suicide” several times
Please take the opportunity to correct this as it harks back to suicide being illegal. People take their own lives or kill themselves.
People don’t “commit” illness
Tomorrow morning we will be back on the BBC Breakfast red sofa when we will announce the details of our next walk in memory of our daughters; Sophie, Beth & Emily.
For full details see our website:
#SuicidePrevention
#MentalHealthAwareness
#GetOutside
We were massively grateful that Kevin Sinfield made time to come and walk with us today.
His support and encouragement means a lot to us.
That said…we won’t accept his invitation to run with him in December!
@leedsrhinos
@BBCLeeds
Here's our latest blog - 3 Dads Walking at Westminster
It covers the debate in Parliament about our petition and includes 2 pieces from
@BBCBreakfast
; one from the morning of the debate and the second our response the following day
Today we had the official
@educationgovuk
response to our petition. Quite frankly it's not good enough.
They are NOT doing "everything we can to prevent it"
If you haven't done so already please sign and share the petition. We need to keep the pressure on
Our initial target was to raise £3,000 each – 3 Dads, 3 Homes, 300-miles, £3,000 each...
All done for
@PAPYRUS_Charity
, in memory of Beth, Emily & Sophie and is aimed at ensuring other families don’t go through the same suffering as us.
Thank you
We’d love to be able to answer every one of your messages and tweets….but we just don’t have the time. Finished walking at 2030, ate then to accommodation. Just about to go to bed. Up at 0600 & out of here at 0700
#3Dadswalking
We are getting messages of love and support from many people. This one is a bit special. Mike read it whilst we were walking yesterday leaving us all in tears.
#SuicidePrevention
@PAPYRUS_tweets
This afternoon we met
@GillianKeegan
to talk about what we’ve learned on our walks & our campaign to make suicide prevention a compulsory part of the curriculum.
It was a very positive meeting, another step forward.
Find out more when we’re on
@BBCBreakfast
in the morning
Good luck to Michelle, Liz & Kim -
@Just3Mums
They begin their 265 mile walk this morning in memory of their sons Maxi, Seb & Hayden
Find out more and support them on their way:
3 Dads Walking on TV twice tomorrow:
- Around 8am on
@BBCBreakfast
- At 8pm on
@ITV
at the
@PrideOfBritain
Awards
Talking about our girls and our campaign to get suicide prevention onto the school curriculum. Please sign our petition:
Thanks to
@PrideOfBritain
for sharing this short video - it's our message in a nutshell
It's not just about the government, it's not just about celebrities...it's ALL of us
Every adult in this country needs to be able to talk to their children about suicide & suicide prevention
3 Dads Walking UK2022 Day 30 - Lake End to Putney
Bridge
Penultimate day of our +600 mile walk - 6 miles into Westminster to finish tomorrow morning (starting at Putney Bridge at 0530)
We will be on
@BBCBreakfast
at 0630, 0730 & 0830
We are very grateful of
@DrNeilHudson
's ongoing support for our campaign.
We look forward to meeting with him and
@RishiSunak
Equipping young people with the knowledge and skills to deal with suicidal thoughts will save countless lives
Humbled today at
#PMQs
to be able to raise the issue of young suicide on behalf of the
@3dadswalking
Andy, Tim and Mike. So pleased that the PM
@RishiSunak
has agreed to meet with me & the 3 Dads to discuss putting suicide awareness & prevention into educational settings.
CONGRATULATIONS Mick on reaching £1,000,000!!!
What a star!
We’ll invite you on our next walk (as long as you promise to keep your clothes on)
🚶🚶🏻♂️🚶🏻♀️
😘😘😘
And so it begins....packed in Cumbria, Norfolk & Manchester. Ready to start our next walk in memory of Sophie, Emily & Beth.
Raising funds for
@PAPYRUS_Charity
, talking about suicide prevention and changing the school curriculum.
Full details here:
Yesterday we met the Prime Minister
@RishiSunak
at No 10 where we talked about adding suicide prevention to the school curriculum & the lifesaving work of
@PAPYRUS_Charity
Report will be on
@BBCBreakfast
at 0620 & 0813 this morning
3 Dads Walking UK2022 Day 16 - Wem to Wilderley Hall
Today we passed halfway in terms of distance AND days. We're counting down from here on in.
Pls take a look at the petition on our website and help us save young lives
3 Dads Walking UK2022 - Edinburgh to Carlops
A low key start because of the preparations for the arrival of the Queen's coffin at Holyrood.
Quiet and reflective mood before we headed west for Water of Leith & The Pentland Hills.
We're at Westminster later today with
@DrNeilHudson
to meet the Prime Minister to talk to him about our campaign to add suicide prevention to the school curriculum &
@PAPYRUS_Charity
Our reaction to the meeting will be on
@BBCBreakfast
on Wednesday morning
We want to say a heartfelt thank you to Daniel Craig, for donating £10,000 to PAPYRUS for
@3DadsWalking
.
What an amazing way to send Tim, Andy and Mike on their way, as they start their 300-mile walk tomorrow, in memory of their daughters, Emily, Sophie and Beth 💜
#JamesBond
Our one day off. We’re at Mike’s in Sale. Helen sorting loads of washing. Rain staying away so drying in progress. We’ll be sparkling when we set off tomorrow!
3 Dads Walking UK2022 Day 9 - Shap to Kendal (v2)
@theyoungunstrio
were inspired to write "3 Dads Walking On" after our last walk
Yesterday they met us above Bannisdale and sang it (hopefully available to download in early October)
Very powerful stuff
We're back in Manchester, looking forward to speaking to Charlie &
@rachelburden
later this morning (just after 8am).
Thanks again to the team at
@BBCBreakfast
for taking an interest in our story.
We're still shouting loudly (as requested by Daniel Craig)
Today we reveal the final design for the Baton of Hope - symbol of a movement to reverse the suicide crisis in the UK.
It’s time to unite. It’s time to talk. It’s time to challenge this silent crisis.
The Baton is coming…please pass it on.
Thanks to the team at
@BBCBreakfast
for inviting us back to the red sofa this morning
The support they have given us has helped spread our message of hope
Together we can save lives
Mike Palmer, Andy Airey and Tim Owen lost their daughters to suicide and are known as 3 Dads Walking.
They told
#BBCBreakfast
about their new book 'Three Dads Walking: 300 Miles of Hope' - and the challenge of writing and recording it