WHEN Liam Barnes' cousin took her own life after struggling with mental health issues, he knew he wanted to do something in her memory.

And now he is setting up a new mental health charity in Laura Hyde's name.

The Laura Hyde Foundation will provide advice on mental health awareness and support for medical and emergency services personnel.

Laura was a military nurse who was struggling with her mental health.

Liam told the Advertiser he started the organisation because he wanted her memory to live on and make a difference in the way she did when she was alive.

“She had helped so many people as she was a military nurse. But when she needed help it seemed as though there was very little or non-existent of services available,” he said.

“We need a better solution for our emergency services.

“The experiences of trauma that our emergency services witness every single day and the stressful situations they are expected to deal with is beyond comparable.

“They help us but who is helping them in their time of need?”

Liam aims to establish the foundation this year as a significant mental health support organisation. He has already formed links with MIND and the Samaritans.

Among the key targets he has set himself are ensuring local hospital staff have access to a mental health support network and working with the local nursing trust to provide free literature as part of their employee handbook.

And he will also be fundraising money for the charity and one of the first events in his sights is the Swindon Half Marathon on September 9.

The foundation has already registered to take part with a host of volunteers who will be running on the day with a team of charity champions in fancy dress to raise awareness of the services it will be offering.

After the loss of his cousin he identified that there was a gap in the charity sector to provide this level of support and decided that the best thing to come out of the emotional upheaval caused by her death would be to help other people who were in a similar situation.

“Given that Swindon was Laura’s home for so many years, we feel this is an appropriate location to support our long but rewarding journey and hope the people of Swindon can join us.

"It’s okay to not be perfect.

"It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to do something that you hadn’t done, because if we don’t do those things, we never grow.”

More information is available online at laurahydefoundation.org.