Miss Birmingham hopeful helping suicide prevention charity after friend took own life

Isobel Lines, 18, is using her pageant race to campaign against young suicide

ByVerity Bowman 05:30, 28 MAY 2019

A beauty queen hopeful has revealed how her friend’s suicide is spurring her on in the race for the Miss Birmingham crown.

Isobel Lines, 18, will compete for the title at Resorts World on June 2 and if she wins she'll go forward to the Miss England finals.

But it's her campaign of suicide prevention that motivates her the most.

The university student, from Wednesbury, lost a close friend to suicide at just 17 years old.

Now Isobel is using her title race to raise money and awareness for PAPYRUS, a charity that works to prevent the suicide of young people.

The charity supports individuals with suicidal thoughts and equips communities in suicide prevention programs.

Though Isobel already fills her days campaigning for charity and practicing for the pageant, she’s also a Sports Science student at the University of Worcester.

The teenager says sports lessons greatly helped her own mental health and believes they can be vital in improving the wellbeing of young people.

She said: “The semi finals are this Sunday at Resorts World in Birmingham. The charity I'm campaigning for is PAPYRUS. Miss England is working with them as well.

“I lost a friend from Sixth Form and there was no indication or sign or anything.

"When I found out about this charity it was all quite fitting. It really helps having a personal connection to the charity.

“He did business and music at school, but the music was his main thing. He played loads of instruments and did loads of gigs. He had a good future ahead of him.

“We were close friends. We weren’t friends through school, but we became very close in the last six months of his life. He was 17 when he died. There was no warning.

“It really affected us all when our friend died and if we and the school has known about the charity at the time it would have made the experience much less traumatic.

“I think if I was being critical on the situation I’d say not enough was implemented by the government in schools for education on mental health. We weren’t taught about mental health enough."

She added: “I would use the title, if I won, to campaign to get more education on mental health in schools.

“I think I’ve raised about £700 for the charity so far through cake sales, auctions and raffles. I also walked the Malvern Hills blindfolded to raise money.”

Isobel competes in the semi-finals of Miss England at Resorts World, Birmingham on June 2.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/miss-birmingham-hopeful-helping-suicide-16338180