Meet Leah

At Sheffield Children’s we have a dedicated team of people across the Trust who provide health and wellbeing support with a range of events for colleagues throughout the year. We also have a trained team of mental health first aiders who offer free and non-judgemental support for anyone working at Sheffield Children’s.

*content warning: suicide prevention*

One of those people is Leah Reynolds who is our Cystic Fibrosis Clinical Service Coordinator. Earlier this year Leah spoke at the Sheffield Baton of Hope event where she publicly shared more about her personal experiences of suicide for the first time.

The Baton of Hope is a UK wide initiative working to end suicide, and today is also World Suicide Prevention Day. This is an annual event where organisations and communities around the world come together to raise awareness of how we can create a world where fewer people die by suicide.

Leah is incredibly passionate about suicide prevention and volunteers lots of her time to support others who are struggling.

She said: “Before the Baton of Hope event I’d never done any public speaking before, and also never spoken about my experiences of suicide, so it was double whammy of firsts for me! I felt sick when I was waiting I was so nervous. I didn’t feel embarrassed to share my story, but I did feel a bit like there were a lot of senior NHS colleagues from across the city there and then little old me! I had to say to myself ‘there’s a reason why I’m here and it’s because I’ve got important real life experience to share’.”

As a mental health first aider Leah often meets with colleagues to listen to their experiences and offer support. This can be for all kinds of reasons and isn’t just when people find themselves in a point of crisis.

Leah is also open about the fact she has borderline personality disorder and she does lots of work to help reduce the stigma that people with mental health conditions face.

She said: “I was anxious about applying to be a mental health first aider at first – I thought ‘am I going to get in trouble for disclosing my mental health condition?’ but it turns out that people with lived experience bring lots to the role. When I found out I’d been successful I was really happy.”

Since she spoke at the Baton of Hope event Leah has become more involved in initiatives working to support suicide prevention and she is committed to helping make change on a big and small level so that people now and in the future, don’t have to struggle alone.
Leah’s speech from the Baton of Hope featured this closing paragraph:

“There might be people here today hearing my story who are also struggling in a similar way to how I did, or who can relate to what I have been through. I just want you to know that you are not alone, better days are coming, and this isn’t the end for you. I spent so much time worrying that I would never find Leah again, but five years later here I am standing in front of you sharing my story of hope. I did find Leah again and I have gained so much more too.”

If you are reading this post now and struggling you can find more information and support on the World Suicide Prevention Day website https://www.iasp.info/wspd/ and through Sheffield Suicide Support and Prevention https://www.sheffieldsuicidesupport.co.uk/.