Hi i'm Biba

My name is Biba, my sister Suky and I grew up with Cyan and Cal. I want to live in a world where people like Cal can get the mental health support they need. I’ve campaigned for years against the austerity cuts and growing privatisation within our NHS which continues to have negative ramifications for mental health services. To see the numbers of mental health emergencies and suicides increasing every year is not acceptable in what claims to be one of the most developed countries in the world. We need action, and fast if we are going to save lives and I believe the 3-digit mental health emergency helpline is a great start.

Hi i'm Delilah

I grew up with Cal, we were best friends from the age of 4 onwards. His family are like my family and this is my main drive to work with them. Cal and I were extremely similar. I still feel and see a lot of him in me. I’ve had my fair share of mental health struggles – constantly navigating life, trying to do my bit to help others get through theirs. With the rising cost of living – NHS funding issues and all the factors that life throws us -now it’s more important than ever to come together and fight for mental health support. Which is why, I’m committed to being involved in wonderful life-changing work that Calzy Foundation do – and feel very honoured to part of this mindful caring community.

Hi i'm Jaden

I knew Cal in secondary school, and his life and passing had a very big impact on me. I joined the Calzy Foundation because I wanted to help their mission to remove the stigma around the subject of suicide. In the wake of lockdown, I think a lot of people have finally woken up to the complex realties of mental health, and so now it’s more important than ever to keep increasing awareness, especially among young people. Posting on social media isn’t enough, and the Calzy Foundation is laying amazing groundwork in terms of real life action. It’s a privilege to be a part of something that genuinely feels like a movement, and to help honour the legacy of a wonderful human being.

Hi i'm Suky

I’m so proud to be part of Cal’s youth board where we advocate for peer-to-peer support and campaign for better mental health resources in a time when suicide remains the single biggest killer of boys and young men. I joined because I believe our government needs to be held accountable for the lack of investment into this country’s mental health and youth services and more action needs to be taken to protect our generation and future generation’s mental wellbeing. 

Hi i'm Destiny

I knew Cal from around secondary school time and raves: I’ve also lost another friend due to suicide. I decided I wanted to join the Calzy Youth Board as a way to not only keep his memory alive but to also meet others who are also potentially grieving a loss and be a support to the other Youth Board members. I am compelled to helping others with their mental health; it means even more as I too struggle with my mental health day-to-day. I also was lucky enough this year to get awarded my MHFR certification through the Calzy Foundation. I feel honoured to be on the Youth Board and be a part of driving forward the need for change and help campaign.

Hi i'm Jack

Having felt such a strong resonance with Cal’s story, I really feel that now is the time to bring mental health into the mainstream consciousness. Having had my own experience with difficulties arising as a result of the ‘modern’ world, I found myself amidst an ocean of young men who could not express how they truly felt. I have made it my life mission to change this, no longer do we need to suffer in silence when we have our peers to support us!.

Hi i'm Lucy

I was lucky enough to meet Cal at school when I was 12, and was instantly drawn to his kind heart and warm energy. His passing hit me hard, and since about a month after, I’ve been working alongside his wonderful family, helping to build the foundations of this wonderful organisation. It’s such an honour to be part of the Calzy Foundation – living in a country where the organisations who are meant to ‘protect’ us, very clearly do not care about our well-being. It’s time to take matters into our own hands and do what we can ti improve mental health support for young people around the country. I’ve struggled a lot with my own mental health over the years, as I think most people do these days, and so opening up the conversation is also super important for me, and another reason I am so glad to be part of this family.

Hi i'm Ellie

I joined the Calzy Foundation because i care about the fourth leading cause of death between 15-and-29-year olds, and the Government are NOT doing enough to protect US! I believe sharing our lived experiences through peer-to-peer support is the most powerful tool in combatting stigma and im proud of the framework we are developing with the Calzy Foundation.

Hi i'm Deepanshi

I have been overcoming my mental health struggles for over 15 years now. In 2018, after reaching rock bottom, I started Rain On Me, a peer support non-profit. I wanted to provide a safe space, in the form of support groups, for individuals in a position similar to myself, who need to vent distress and have a community to grow in. Through this experience, I realised how isolated and defeated many young people feel. Many of our group members have experienced some form of neglect or dismissal from the services that are meant to support us. When I heard Cal’s story and the change the Foundation is trying to bring, I knew I had to be of help in any way possible. It’s an absolute honour to be a part of the Youth Board and be among such inspiring people spreading hope and encouraging action.

This has gone on for long enough. Everyone deserves a listening ear and a safe welcoming community where they can feel accepted and overcome their hardships. We can only make a greater difference if we work together.

Hi I'm Tom

My name is Tom and I knew Cal from growing up skateboarding at Alexandra Palace. I wanted to help the Calzy Foundation as soon as I heard the foundation was being set-up. I’m very grateful to be part of the youth board, and helping contribute to the important work that is being done. I am also really looking forward to seeing what positive change we can achieve!

Hi i'm Andres

I want to campaign for better peer-to-peer support

Hello i'm Emma

Cal, a much-loved son and brother of our dearest family friends. It was an absolute pleasure to enjoy Cal’s company, and see the amazing, funny and warm individual he was right from his early years. To know that Cal was unable to seek an emergency lifeline in his hour of need is beyond heartbreaking. To know that countless others feel the same is both devastating and shameful.

Providing a new 3-digit suicide and mental health emergency lifeline equivalent to 999 is not a big ask. It’s already in operation in the USA, hasn’t cost that much to provide and most importantly, is saving lives. If implemented here in the UK it will take pressure off the already over-stretched police and A&E services, provide jobs to mental health professionals and even boost the economy (a single suicide alone costs £1.7 million – 2014 figures).

It’s the government’s job to look after its citizens. That’s what we pay them to do. The only thing we need to implement a new 3-digit number is political will. With enough public pressure, our government will feel compelled to deliver.

Please support our campaign!

Hello i'm Seth

For too long, our mental health has been seen as a poor second to our physical health. I want to see that change and that’s why I’m supporting the Calzy Foundation. Things are beginning to change but we need to up the pace. Mental health must be made a political priority, we need commitments on funding, the stigma of mental ill-health must be reduced and let’s introduce simple, potentially life-saving initiatives like the three digit national mental health emergency lifeline (equivalent to 999) that the Foundation is campaigning for. In these ways, our mental health will get the priority it desperately needs.

Please support our campaign!