Saskia's story

“Samaritans holds a very important and large place in my heart. In September 2010, my dad, Viren, took his own life. I was 11 at the time and had only just started secondary school. Still to this day I struggle to comprehend what he was going through, and how much pain he was experiencing but felt he couldn’t share.

Dad was a wickedly funny, entrepreneurial, motivated and kind man. He would make people howl with laughter but also silence a room with his stories (often jazzed up with his artistic story telling license). These are all traits that I hold very close to my heart and have tried to nurture in myself since he left us.

I signed up to the London Marathon on 29th May 2023 which would have been Dad's 66th birthday. It's a real privilege to be running in memory of him and I’m really looking forward to taking on the Marathon this April - it'll be a huge physical and mental challenge! I see running as my mental safe space – to shake out energy and frustrations from the day.

When I’m doing a long or challenging run, I often feel like Dad is up there watching and cheering me on. I did a half marathon last year, and towards the end, I felt am overwhelming feeling of his presence which gave me the final burst of energy to complete it!

I hadn’t heard of Samaritans until after Dad passed - I hadn't realised there were outlets for people to talk and share their thoughts. It's so important to me to help spread the word about what Samaritan's do and the support they offer. So many people don’t feel like they can’t talk to people or approach certain topics, but something I've realised over the years and tried to own is that whatever you’re going through, talking really does help and however vulnerable you might feel, just know you're never alone.