Susan's hair loss is Lochaber MindFit's gain as she raises cash for local group

Fort William resident Susan Archibald is feeling a lot lighter these days after she went under the hairdresser's clippers in the name of charity at the weekend.

 

The chairperson of the Lochaber MindFit mental health support group had her long locks shaved off by local hairdresser Caitlin Daly to raise funds for Lochaber MindFit which offers peer to peer support on mental health issues.

 

'I love my new hairstyle. It felt a bit weird at first - as if I just had my hair tied up in a pony tail or something,' she told the Lochaber Times this week.

 

Susan's Go Fund Me page has now seen her clock up £1,235 and the event saw £500 raised from the raffling of a signed Scotland international rugby jersey, as well as £300 in donations on the actual day.

 

"attachment_365152" "" "214"] Marc McCook, aged 10, and his mum, Becky, celebrate him being the lucky winner of the Scotland rugby top raffle. Photograph: Iain Ferguson, alba.photos

 

'I am hoping that we can reach £2,000. Every penny helps boost mental health support in this area which is vital as mental health services always seem to be the poor relation in health care matters,' she added.

 

'I lost my own brother to depression 15 years ago so know how important all this is. The good thing is more and more people are talking about mental health issues.

 

'And this is more important than ever because the coronavirus lockdown will have made such problems worse for people already struggling to deal with them.

 

'Whatever we can do to help we must. We need more facilities.'

 

Lochaber MindFit groups have now resumed face-to-face sessions, all the while utilising Covid precautions such as face masks, hand sanitisers and track and trace procedures.

 

Given that she has now had her head shaved, we asked Susan if she was planning any more fundraising events.

 

'I have something in mind, maybe for next year. It will take a bit of organisation, but hopefully we will get something arranged.'

 

Meanwhile, mental health issues - in particular suicide - is the theme of a new two-part radio documentary series, to tie in with World Suicide Awareness Day today (Thursday).

 

Six Men aired last night (Wednesday) on BBC Radio Scotland and uses the format of a very personal take from Fort William musician and Take the Floor broadcaster Gary Innes on why the instance of suicide, particularly in men, is so high in the Highlands.

 

"attachment_365149" "" "200"] Fort William musician and broadcaster Gary Innes, pictured, fronts the new documentary series examining suicide rates in the Highlands.

 

Gary himself lost six team mates from Fort William shinty team over the years and was inspired to write a song in their memory.

 

In the series, he speaks to members of their families and also investigates some of the positive projects set up to avoid similar sad incidents in the future.

 

The programmes will be available on BBC iplayer for a set period after the original transmission dates.