In Sam's name 2022 Review
The start of the group
This group was formed in the aftermath of a tragic story when Worksop native Sam Fisher, 29 died due to struggles with his mental health. People in Sam’s situation can experience a wide range of emotions and problems that can prove to be too much and with no help they can feel lost.
This group is an olive branch for people in dire need of help to solve problems in their life. In Sam’s name it’s not about having all the answers, it’s about giving people some positivity in their lives, and trying to help that individual regain control of their life. While talking through previous experiences with other members in the group who might be able to relate to that individual.
The group formed during the wake of Sam Fisher back in November 2021, founders of the group Richard McHugh and Stewart Fisher started the ball rolling. Richard and Stewart spoke to Sam’s friends like Kurt Lewis who would go on to be the secretary of the group, Kieron Wilkinson who is a big supporter of the group and Luke Atherton who handles the Twitter and Instagram pages to promote the group and mental health locally, as well as whats happening nationwide around mental health.
We started off at a nursery in Welbeck on a very dark and frosty December evening, it didn’t get off to a good start with the majority of the group getting lost. However, when we all arrived the group hit the ground running, Richard spoke about the goals and objectives for the group which have to this day been fulfilled, we also aired why we came to the group and the potential it has to grow.
After the first session we decided to do the meetings once every two weeks so it’s not too much and not too far in between, with a monthly walk added into the mix which some people feel more comfortable to go on the walks than the meetings.
The second session took place in January 2022 at the Edge in Worksop. This was easier to find and closer to home for most people who have joined In Sam’s name, we decided to set the meetings at 7pm every other Thursday.
One of the first ideas that the group came up with to spread the word about the support group, was beer mats and banners in businesses around the Bassetlaw area. From pubs, hairdressers, supermarkets and other companies, they all got behind the message which has helped with the exposure of the group.
It was a great idea to come up with this advertising idea, these places are used by the majority of the local community everyday. Therefore when people see them displayed it’s a constant reminder of the group, even if that person doesn’t relate to the group they might know someone that might need the help.
During this time the local mental health organisations really got behind us and we are one of the most talked about group in the local area. Our chairman Richard McHugh cooperates with mental health organisations like NHS Nottingham and Nottingham Integrated Care Partnership (Bassetlaw clinical commission group) and their employee Helen Azar, this connection has shined a light on the group within mental health organisations, with Richard sending Helen monthly emails with updates on the group.
It hasn’t just been the mental health groups that have supported In Sam’s Name, supermarkets like Tesco and Morrisons have really got behind the group. One of our members Clayton Tindle set up a charity called then boot room, which is a charity for people to donate football kits to children that can’t afford them, we have collaborated with the charity through via social media pages.
Local Football club Worksop Town have done a lot of work with the group on and off the field, players Liam Hughes and skipper Hamza Bencherif have been involved with the group helping out during the open day and other charity events that have helped raise awareness about mental health in the local area. A shout out to the Worksop Fire service who have come into a couple of the meetings to do a talk, their support for the group only helps spread the word of help in and around Bassetlaw.
What the group did in the early stages of it’s formation (December – March)
The group started off at a nursery in Welbeck, but we decided to then move to a more convenient location which was the edge in Kilton, Worksop. The location was closer for everyone to reach and easier to find, with the majority of the people in and around the Worksop area.
The group had around eight regulars that joined In Sam’s name for the first few sessions, after this period some people felt better in themselves after coming to a couple of the meetings. This in turn gave them confidence to tackle their individual problems either on their own or people involved in their life.
That is what the group is here for, the main goal is to give someone who has either lost control of their life or are confused into what to do next some hopefully helpful advice. It’s not a case of the group having all the answers, it’s about having someone from a neutral point of view or someone who has gone through similar experiences, talking to that individual and hoping to connect on a level that that person understands.
During the early meetings, we’ve had many different people come in to help support the group we’ve had the mayor of Bassetlaw come on board with it and attend a couple of the meetings. Other people that have come range from healthy eating, getting the right amount of sleep and other people within the mental healthy world.
This support and exposure of the group was second-to-none, it was great to see the reaction of the local communities and how groups like these have massive impact on peoples life’s. Therefore we thought about setting up a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to get updates promoted out there for the public to see. Articles are based in and around mental health, helpful tips and posts that might make someone think about their problems differently.
In January 2021 we also set up the monthly walks, this was a fantastic idea because it was more of a relaxed environment for someone to join and support the group instead of the meetings.
The walks are a great mixture of socialising and getting some exercise in, while some people bring their dogs along. This became a major success with the figures constantly reaching double figures for the walks.
Heading towards the warmer months and the opening of the social media pages (April – June
As we approached the warmer months the group decided to expand their mechanise by manufacturing many different styles of sports shirts. There was a Sponge FC football shirt which was a sky blue colour, Navy blue and Green the make of the top was Adidas. The In Sam’s name emblem was at the centre of the football shirt with In Sam’s name over displayed over the top of the emblem, while the #alreytbod is underneath. The other t-shirts were ringer t-shirts which fitted perfectly during that time of year with summer on the horizon.
The ringer t-shirts was the same content as the football shirts apart from the adidas logo, they also came in several different colours from cream, turquoise, Navy blue and white. The launch of the t-shirts was a success there was shirts sold before the jubilee walk and throughout the summer months.
The first week of summer 2022, we decided to do a Jubilee walk where we had a record-breaking 35 people come on board. This was a great idea to do a big walk prior to the Queen’s jubilee. This proved to be a huge success with people who had never come any of the previous walks, who came to take part for a very good cause.
Kilton golf course were tremendous in their support and hospitality, they provided a buffet for after the walk and the majority of the walkers stayed outside Kilton’s clubhouse to enjoy a few drinks and something to eat after. It was a scorching hot summers day which made the day better because more people came onto the walk with the weather being so good.
Summer events to help fight mental health and updates on the group (July – September)
As the summer of 2022 was in full swing, In Sam’s name member Clayton Tindle (Also involved in local charity organisation the boot room) and Sam’s dad Stewart were the representatives of the group for the 2nd July open day at Worksop Town football club.
The day was set up to involve younger kids into football and be involved with their local football team. The day consisted of a two hours of the first team open training session from 10:30am to 12:30pm. This gave the youngsters and anyone that went a glimpse of the quality that Worksop Town have at their disposable.
Then the youngsters managed to meet the players and have a photo showing a great connection between the club and the community. This is good to see because the players feel a connection to the fans by getting to know them, rather than a simple hello. The fans and local community feel apart of the club with this great gesture from the Tigers.
The open day finished off with the youngsters going onto the 4G to show off their skills to Worksop Town. This would be a great experience for the youngsters as they be able to perform in front of a bigger crowd, while also playing on the Tigers state of the art artificial pitch.
A few weeks after the open day, their was the launch of the Bassetlaw Suicide Prevention Programme which took place at the hub in Worksop. Founders of the group Richard McHugh, Kurt Lewis and Stewart Fisher went down to talk about their experiences with suicide and how it has affected them and people around them.
Programmes like this are positive steps towards the fight against mental health. This would be helpful to the people struggling with their mental health, and for people trying to help listening to Richard, Stewart and Kurt could give them a good insight into the minds of people when they go through these experiences.
We had a charity golf day set up at Kilton golf course, there was four groups of four in each team and the day was a resounding success with the people who participated enjoying the experience. There was money raised in the name of mental health with a fee to enter the tournament, food and beverages were being sold in a tent on the 10th hole to the players when they passed it.
During this time we had arguably one of the greatest success stories since the group formed, one of our members Paul came to use while going through a crisis. He lost his business due to Covid which in affect resulted in him losing his house. To make things worst he got divorced with his then wife and he had a heart condition and had a long wait to find the result of his heart condition.
His mental state started to deteriorate and he had to wait 8 weeks till he saw a specialist, something that has to improve as 8 weeks is far too long for someone to wait when their struggling mentally. Therefore he turned to In Sam’s name, it wasn’t easy for Paul at first but after embracing the group and having something positive in his life it helped organise his life to get some form of control of it.
He left the group in the fall with a new job, a new house and the heart condition wasn’t as serious as first feared. This shows that support groups can work for some people you have to take inconsideration how he had nothing positive in his life and that one thing has helped him position back to where he was.
The group is here to try and change that and every member that comes through the door says the same, that they can come to the meetings in not the best state of mind and the group will pick them up and make them see things from a different point of view.
The summer drew to a close and the group looked at ways to promote the awareness of mental health and the In Sam’s name name. As mentioned earlier local football team Worksop Town football club supported the group from day one and put on a charity penalty shootout during a September FA cup match. the participants on the day was Secretary of In Sam’s name Kurt Lewis, co-founder Stewart Fisher, Charlie McHugh, Jack Salmon, Alex Leverton and Will Padley.
The day went really well with the In Sam’s name brand being flashed around for Worksop and the surrounding areas aware that help is out there for people.
As the year drew to a close, the group had many different ideas to finish the year off on a high
We approached October and during this period we had a few more new members who joined the group and are now a long term member of In Sam’s name. However, as we welcomed our new members with open arms we said farewell to our secretary Kurt Lewis.
Kurt was a very important figure in helping out not only set up the group, but assist out in the majority of events and other work that was done behind the scenes at In Sam’s name. Kurt left the UK at the back end of September with his other half to migrate to Melbourne, Australia. He also on the way travelled round south-east Asia while stopping off at Sydney before hitting Melbourne.
A great idea was spoken before Kurt left about possibly setting a mental health network out in Melbourne, with a connection over the other side of the world with In Sam’s Name, this could be a massive positive step into helping people fight their mental health.
Worksop’s half marathon took place on Sunday 30th October. In memory of Sam Fisher Recce Presley, Sam Shepherd and Kevin Sanders took part in the half marathon. This was a great gesture and they wore the Live forever t-shirts which promoted the group as well as the memory of their friend. Reece completed the race in 1 hour 49 minutes, Sam finished in 1 hour 45 minutes and Kevin completed in 1 hour 58 minutes.
This was a great effort from all three runners who did the marathon with very respectable finishing times. Running was a big part of Sam’s therefore it’s fitting that his friend run the half marathon in his honour.
There has been many local organisations that have backed the group, no more so than Worksop’s got talent who have promoted the group at every chance they have had. To show appreciation for what their effort we promoted the November 11th Worksop’s got talent event and Sam’s mum Gill Fisher was present at the event.
Towards the end of the year the group was well into the festive mood and on Wednesday 14th December the Chequers Inn at Ranby, Nottinghamshire kindly offered to do the group a free Christmas dinner. There was around 15 of the group that attended the meal and it was a great night for everyone involved.
You saw the group mingling between one another and the group had a great send off for a great year, the chequers Inn was a favourite of Sam Fisher who used to go there on his breaks when he was teaching inmates at Ranby prison.
2022 was a great year for In Sam’s name and produced us with a great platform to help the local community battle their mental health or issues in their personal life. As the year went on some people left and some joined, but the rise of members of the group rose as the year went.
This shows that the group has helped and is helping people steer themselves onto the right path in their individual life’s. A big plus for the group was working together with local businesses and organisations which has helped promote the group around the area while members taking part in events. Looking for new material will always be something the group will look out for, as it can help expand the name but most importantly it keeps the attraction of the group with events that people can be apart of. We are hopeful that 2023 will be as good as 2022.
