THREE young women are raising money for a local support group set up to help those suffering from borderline personality disorder (BPD) after the tragic death of their best friend.
Katie Donnelly had been suffering from the disorder when she died suddenly at the Fermanagh and Tyrone Hospital in Omagh last September.
Lack of treatment and understanding of this mental illness are two of the biggest issues vulnerable teenagers and adults are experiencing today.
To tackle this, ‘Katie’s SHINE Project’ was founded by Katie’s mother Erin from Ederney, to help those struggling with BPD also known as Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD), and to educate those directly involved with an individual’s care.
Katie’s best friends Megan Jackson from Irvinestown, Omagh’s Harmony Hamilton, and Kylah Plant from Fivemiletown are now walking 300,000 steps each in June (900,000 in total) to raise money for the support group in memory of her.
The GoFundMe page they created has already received more than £1,600 in donations.
“We are three girls at university who don’t get the chance to be as active as we should so this is a massive undertaking for us all, but we know Katie will be with us every step of the way,” Megan, 19, said.
“It’s about getting Katie’s story out there and getting the message across that there is now help available. We’re trying to raise awareness as well as funds.
“We’ll be doing 10km a day over June. It’s also a way of keeping Katie’s memory alive. She was always an active person so we thought we’d do something active as well.”
You can donate to ‘Katie’s SHINE Project’ GoFundMe page here: https://gofund.me/bdac27db.
For more details on ‘Katie’s SHINE Project’ please go to: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091345203085.
Those looking after loved ones suffering from BPD can access information, help, and support via the ‘NI Personality Disorder Network’ facilitated by Mindwise at: https://www.mindwisenv.org/what-we-do/campaigning-lobbying/ni-personality-disorder-network/.
Lifeline is also a crisis-response helpline service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in distress or despair, you can call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000 and talk to an experienced counsellor in confidence.
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