More than 130 people across Kent will be taking turns carrying a suicide prevention campaign’s Olympic-torch style baton through the county.
The Baton of Hope Tour will be coming to Medway, Maidstone, Canterbury, and Thanet on Monday, September 22.
The tour, which started in 2023, will be visiting 20 locations across the country and will start in Blackpool on Monday, September 1.
Before heading to Kent for the first time in its history, it will be going through places such as Bradford, Leeds, and Norwich.
Warm-up events will be taking place in Folkestone and on Sheppey on Sunday, September 21.
The full route and events schedule, which was published today (July 22) can be found here. More details below…
Medway leg:
9am: The baton will arrive at the GlassBox Theatre at MidKent College in Gillingham where Baton of Hope founder Mike McCarthy will give a speech.
9.30am to 10am: The baton will be carried through Great Lines Park into the University of Greenwich campus, to the Chatham Maritime Marina.
10.30am to 10.55am: The baton will board a Kent Fire and Rescue Service launch speed boat at Marina Jetty before heading up the River Medway to Rochester Esplanade.
11am to 11.40am: The baton will be taken off the boat and carried into Rochester High Street to the castle and cathedral, where music and wellbeing activities will be taking place.
Maidstone leg:
11.40am: The baton will be taken to Maidstone FC.
12pm to 12.30pm: The baton will be greeted by players on the pitch during a break of the FC’s school tournament.
12.30pm to 1pm: The baton will be carried to County Hall where it will be met by public health leaders.
1pm to 1.30pm: The baton will be carried along Week Street and Gabriels Hill.
1.30pm to 2pm: Samba drummers will walk with baton bearers along Mote Avenue into Mote Park to join the Hope in the Park event.
Canterbury leg
2.15pm to 3pm: The baton will be taken to the Queningate car Park.
3pm to 3.30pm: The baton will be carried through south Canterbury and will join the Together for Hope event at Canterbury Christ Church University’s Augustine House.
4.30pm to 5.15pm: After a speech by mental health campaigner Ben West, the baton will make its way to Canterbury Safe Haven.
Thanet leg
5.15pm: The Community Driving School will drive the baton to Margate.
6.10pm: Starting at Nayland Rock Shelter, the baton will be accompanied by a marching band along the seafront, pausing at Margate Steps and the Turner Contemporary before heading along the Harbour Arm, then back into Margate’s Old Town for the Afternoon of Hope event.
6.55pm: The baton will make its final journey of the day, from Old Town to Dreamland, where the Evening of Hope event will be taking place at 7.30pm.
Dance group Midlife Movers, which was launched by Debs Forsyth from Sandwich in 2022, will be helping bring the Kent and Medway leg of the tour to a celebratory end at the final event.
The dance group, which is made up of members of over-40s dance classes from across East Kent, took the stage by storm at last year’s Britain’s Got Talent auditions.
Debs, who lost her former brother-in-law to suicide in 2023, said: “Suicide, particularly the way it affects men, is something I feel so strongly about.
“Buck was a brilliant person, fun and glorious to be around. None of us knew how he was feeling, and it is such a huge thing when they go.
“We’re really looking forward to being a part of the Baton of Hope.
“We’re seeing if we can get 80 of us on the stage to perform an 11-minute disco medley.
“Our youngest dancer will be 41 and the oldest will be 86 – mums, nans and great nans looking to remind people you’re not alone, don’t suffer in silence and there’s always hope.”
Alex Richardson is a registered mental health nurse and the founder of Keep Talking Services, which is a dedicated telephone befriending service committed to providing support to people grappling with loneliness and often experiencing poor mental health.
He says he is “proud and privileged” to see the tour come to the county and will be among those carrying the baton through Canterbury.
He explained: “It’s going to be a really emotional moment because it is the biggest suicide prevention initiative there is, and for all of us to come together to really stand up against suicide is something that I’m proud to be a part of.
“I’m a psychiatric nurse and I’ve worked in the field of mental health for over 12 years now. In that time I’ve lost 16 people to suicide, 14 professionally and two were my friends, and sadly since I’ve been elected as a baton bearer we’ve lost another two people to suicide.
“I want to carry that baton in the name of everyone that’s not just lost to suicide but people battling with those thoughts.
“There are so many people, especially that we work with in the charity, that live with those thoughts day in day out, and for me, carrying the baton is saying that enough is enough – we need to stand up against suicide and prevent it.”
The Baton of Hope Tour will end in Wrexham on Saturday, October 4, ahead of a finale in Westminster, London, on Friday, October 10.
Partners including Kent County Council, Medway Council, NHS Kent and Medway, Kent Fire and Rescue Service, Canterbury Christ Church University, Mid Kent Mind, Maidstone United Football Club, and Maidstone Borough Council are supporting the visit.
Kent and Medway Baton of Hope tour coordinator Alice Scutchey said: “Thanks to everyone who is working so hard to make our day of the tour a success and help baton bearers and communities remember loved ones, celebrate hope and stand up to suicide stigma.”
