Georgia's Story

In July this year, our friend Sophie, her partner Lee and daughter Mia suffered the heart-breaking loss of their eldest child Georgia. 
 
Georgia was the most beautiful girl, with a massive smile and an infectious laugh. She brightened up everyone’s day mostly being a total clown! She was always dancing and making others smile, caring and protective of her loved ones. Unfortunately, Georgia couldn’t see how beautiful she was, and she fought a battle every day unable to see those qualities. She hated everything about herself from the inside out which made her feel as though people only pretended to like her; she felt unworthy, and unlovable and always needed reassurance.
 
Sophie can’t pinpoint exactly when Georgia’s struggles started but she noticed some issues developing in secondary school where she was bullied and didn’t enjoy school.  She suffered several traumas over the years and her inability to talk to anyone created anger and frustration inside her and she would often sob for hours in her room, inconsolable.
 
Georgia had a few failed overdose attempts but trying to get her to talk to someone was impossible. Once Georgia turned 18 it became very hard for Sophie to intervene as she was classed as an ‘adult’, but she needed so much more support than she was given. Eventually Georgia started to open up to Sophie and told her that the reason she wouldn’t have counselling was because she didn’t think her problems were bad enough and that there was just something wrong with her, she actually thought that the professionals might laugh at her problems.
 
Georgia finally had a plan and was going to attend counselling sessions which perked her up a bit, and she started going to the gym which she really loved.  Unfortunately, this was all at the start of lockdown and not having a routine or being able to see her friends was a real struggle for Georgia and she started to spiral downwards. She had no motivation or energy to do anything, she couldn’t see the point. 
 
Sophie got her through lockdown, and she had a good routine, doing Yoga with Mia and daily walks with her friend. Georgia even went back to work and really enjoyed it; she was looking forward to her upcoming shifts.  She planned a night out with her best friend and was really excited.  Sophie was so proud of her for pulling herself out of the dark times and it made her so happy to see the girls sitting in the garden giggling and drinking cocktails. Georgia and her friend headed out they had a great night, singing and dancing however something changed, and a series of unfortunate events combined with alcohol left Georgia anxious, upset and angry and tragically she took her own life at home.
 
Nobody can explain the agonising emotional and physical pain that losing a child causes, the guilt that is left is horrendous and Sophie wants to raise awareness for those with mental health problems, especially teenage girls. She also wants to raise the awareness of the effects of alcohol. Mostly Sophie would like to find a way to provide safe places where teenagers can talk, or not talk but be around others who are feeling the same and understand them.  No parent, sibling or friend should go through the horrendous pain that Sophie and her family have endured.
 
COVID restrictions meant that only few people could attend Georgia’s funeral and the family weren’t able to hold a wake or have a final send off for Georgia. This was another blow to Georgia’s many friends and family that desperately wanted to say goodbye.
 
Sophie would love to hold a celebration of life for Georgia, an event where all her friends and family can come together and share their happy memories and show Georgia just how loved she was. So many people have already offered to help and wanted to contribute in some way but due to the restrictions in place Sophie didn’t feel she could accept those generous offers.  So we’d like to support Georgia’s friends and Sophie in helping them to hold Georgia’s celebration of life, demonstrating just how many lives she touched and how terribly she will be missed. 
 
Ideally the event will be held on what would have been Georgia’s 20th Birthday: Friday 30th October. It will be an outdoor event, as we appreciate that COVID precautions will likely still be in place. But the pandemic has already hindered everyone’s grief, and we are sure there is a way we can create an appropriate celebration for Georgia.
 
Any extra funds will go to a charity that raises awareness of suicide among young people and campaigns for change.
 
Thank you so much for your support.