A suicide support charity formed following the tragic death of Ross Ramsay has opened a permanent base in Arbroath.
The Reach Across charity was set up by Ross’s mother Sandra, his brother Ryan and Ross’s aunt Donna Bow who live in Arbroath.
The charity helps people with mental health issues.
Ross died aged 30 in 2013 after going missing from his home in Glasgow.
He had embarked on a promising career in the music and theatre industry but was affected by mental health issues, which ultimately led to his death.
Sandra, from Arbroath, is a qualified social worker and retired from Angus Council in March to focus full-time on working for Reach Across which she does without taking a salary.
The charity has now grown with the support of community donations and has just opened new premises in the town’s Millgate including a room called The Haven.
Sandra said: “I am so excited that we have achieved so much since we lost Ross.
“We have not asked for a penny of funding and all donations of support have been provided by the community.
“Nobody on our committee is paid and everybody gives up their time free of charge.
“It is truly amazing and beyond my wildest dreams to get to where we are today.
“The new premises will give people a safe space and a quiet environment.
“It’s a place where they can relax and get things off their chest.”
Sandra said the new base wouldn’t have happened without the support of the committee and friends of Reach Across.
The charity was set up in 2015 and is working towards the prevention of suicide and tackling the stigma attached to mental illness.
Sandra said people are self-referred and Reach Across look at what they can do to raise their self-esteem in addition to the help they are receiving from the medical profession.
That can be anything from having a chat to holistic therapies such as hypnotherapy and massage – volunteers even helped someone decorate their home.
Sandra added: “I miss Ross dreadfully every single day.
“I just want Reach Across to be in his memory and it is his legacy – it’s something positive to be born from tragedy.
“I want to thank all the people who have raised money for us and enabled us to get where we are today.
“A person I support told me ages ago we would have premises and I did not believe him yet we achieved this because of the generosity of people locally and beyond.”
Former St Johnstone footballer Danny Powell – who now helps people suffering from suicidal thoughts after trying to take his own life – cut the ribbon to mark the opening of the premises.
Jill Scott
More than 450 people have signed up to a self-help group set up in the wake of a mental health unit closure in Angus.
Brechin Community Council said the response to the Stop Mental Health Stigma association exposed a “huge gap” in services required by people suffering from depression.
Chairwoman Jill Scott said it was a “scandal” that sufferers were having to “sort out their situation” themselves following the shutdown of the Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital.
Angus Health and Social Care Partnership hit back at the criticism and said it was “encouraging” that a local group of people had come together to support one another and address mental health stigma.
Mrs Scott said: “It is a very sad reflection on Angus Health and Social Care Partnership that at a time when the mental health of our community is a growing concern that the first rate Mulberry Unit is being hived off for alternative use.
“Members of the public, sufferers of depression and people of influence in Angus Health and Social Care Partnership all recognise the problem but it comes down to the patients themselves who are having to sort out their situation.
“I am full of admiration, as an individual, as is Brechin Community Council, for these people but I despair for the future.
Richard May (Organiser) speaks to Eryn Gaffney (22), Claire Coleman (33) and Laura Greig (29) at the drop in group
“It is a scandal that mental health is treated as a poor relation. Patients have been hung out to dry.”
The Mulberry Unit at Stracathro Hospital in Angus was finally closed earlier this year and patients were transferred to the Carseview Centre in Dundee.
Richard May, 45, who suffers from depression, set up Stop Mental Health Stigma three weeks ago and his ultimate goal is to eventually put in place a 24-hour mental health facility.
“There is just not enough being done for people struggling with mental health issues,” he said.
“Too many suffer in silence and feel alone but we are getting people out of their houses and it’s changing lives in a very positive way.”
The group meet in Montrose on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Brechin on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Mr May, who lives in Montrose, started the group after being overwhelmed by the response when he put up a Facebook post admitting he was suffering from depression.
The Mulberry Unit was based in the £20 million Susan Carnegie Centre.
Bill Troup, Head of Mental Health Services, Angus Community Health Partnership said “self-management” is an element of mental health treatment.
He added: “Other local services that are available in Angus include self help groups, listening services, health and wellbeing, befriending and community mental health.
“Multidisciplinary Community Mental Health Teams are available in every town in Angus.
“It is important to remember that only six out of every 100 people who access mental health services each year need hospital care.
“With a greater focus on recovery and improved mental wellbeing in communities most people with a mental health problem are treated at home or in the community.
