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A mum’s dream of supporting people with mental health problems after her own son took his life has become a reality, but she still wants to go further.
Claire Fry, whose son Tommy Thwaites, from Maidstone, passed away in 2019 aged 25, set up a community interest company in December, and says she already has more than 60 clients and a handful of volunteers helping her.
The trust, called Tommy's Rainbow Trust, helps people suffering with mental health issues in different ways.
Currently Miss Fry acts as a go-between for the patients and different health services, such as GPs or health trusts, to take the stress away from them or their parents.
Other times, people may not need medical help, but rather just someone to speak to, such as the bereaved parents who have contacted her.
Miss Fry, said: “I registered the trust in December and from then it’s gone mad.
"I am the gap in between the client and getting that help they need. At Tommy’s Rainbow Trust we build a blanket around them.”
Tommy Thwaites, a former Valley Park pupil who dreamed of working on board a cruise ship, was stabbed and struck in the face by a gang in a Maidstone nightclub after receiving abuse about his sexuality.
Afterwards, his mum says his mental health deteriorated. Tommy, who Miss Fry described as “happy go-lucky” and chatty, battled his demons for four years before taking his life.
Miss Fry believes the health services let Tommy down and her experience inspired her to start the trust. She wishes there had been an organisation like Tommy’s Rainbow Trust when her son was alive.
She said: “Multiple agencies need to work together because people are getting lost in the system. I know about mental health services, with Tommy we were pushed from pillar to post, I was going round in circles.”
“I speak on my client’s behalf. I am taking a bit of pressure off, so they don’t have to sit on the phone for two hours repeating themselves.
'It's not rocket science, it's about people working together, that's it...'
“I go to meetings with my clients to make sure their care plan is in place. I make sure all multiple agencies are working together so no one is failed or forgotten. It’s not rocket science, it’s about people working together, that’s it.”
Currently, Miss Fry is the only member of the trust who is trained to speak with the clients and communicates with mental health services, but she wants to train more volunteers up to join her.
However, the cost of mental health training and insurance means the trust’s funds have dwindled down to just £400 and Ms Fry is now applying for grants in order to expand.
Some four of her clients have received therapy, paid for by the trust, but again in order for this service to grow, the trust needs more funding.
Over the last two months, a trust volunteer has applied for grants to the National Lottery Community Fund, the Kent Community Foundation and others, but has yet to hear back, aside from one rejection.
However, filling in the applications takes up hours of time. Fundraising events, such as a Peaky Blinders night, have also been cancelled because of the pandemic.
Even if the grants don’t come in, Miss Fry is determined to continue work as a go between the clients and mental health services.
She is keen to stress that she does not diagnose the clients, but would rather contact GP and get the wheels in motion for them to get help.
The trust is also not a crisis team, for people to ring if they are in the process of self harming or their mental health is deteriorating.
Some people, like bereaved parents, get in touch just to talk. She has 15 clients who have lost their children through suicide, a pain, Miss Fry sadly knows.
She said: “There’s a pain in your heart, I can’t explain it, the pain goes into the throat.
“You feel like you’re going to have a heart attack.”
Miss Fry, who has four sons, including Tommy, has enlisted therapist Gareth Walter, to provide therapy for her clients.
Mr Walter manages a residential home in Maidstone, run by PureCare, a mental health service organisation.
However he met Tommy through his work as a therapist for Rubicon Cares, which provides counselling for crime victims.
Mr Walter said: “There is such a lack of resources and funding in mental health in general, there are so many people out there not being listened to.
“The idea with Claire is to try to bridge that gap between people being let down and the services.”
“For example, the other day someone was meant to be transferred to a community mental health team from Tunbridge Wells to Maidstone, but that transfer hadn’t gone through.
“I mentioned that to Claire and Claire was able to get through to the GP and managed to get them transferred more quickly than it would have happened.”
Miss Fry admits the trust is exhausting work, but she says it needs to be done.
And she shows no sign of stopping now, with plans for a revamped website and a walk-in-centre and hopes for one day, services like hers across the country.
A spokesperson from Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust said: “More than ever, significant investment in mental health services is needed and we absolutely welcome the investment and financial support from central government we are starting to benefit from across Kent and Medway.
“As a trust we remain committed to working with all organisations, including voluntary services and charities, who are involved in improving mental health services across the county so each and every person who may be experiencing ill mental health has access to the very best services we can offer as an integrated system.”
To learn more about Tommy's Rainbow Trust, search for Tommy's Rainbow Charity Trust on Facebook.
For confidential support on an emotional issue, call Samaritans on 116 123 at any time.
If you want to talk to someone confidentially, click here.
