THE mother of a much-loved man who took his own life five years ago this week has thrown her life into supporting others with mental health issues - and she’s determined that he doesn’t become ‘another statistic’ after it was revealed that more than 150 people have died through suicide in Barnsley alone over the last few years.

Mathew James Fullerton died aged just 38 in October 2020 after a lengthy struggle with his mental health.

His mum, Sue Nortcliff, described Mathew as a funny, clever man who had many friends, shown with hundreds of people lining the streets of Middlecliffe at his funeral.

To highlight the importance for action, World Mental Health Day - which took place last Friday - saw figures released by the Office for National Statistics.

They show 87 deaths from suicide were reported in Barnsley over the 2022/24 period and 92 between 2021/23, meaning 179 people from the town have died as a result in just four years.

Across the country, ONS figures show 5,717 died from suicide, with 74 per cent of them being men.

Following Mathew’s death, Sue subsequently set up MAT Charity to give residents a safe place to speak with others - and she’s put her whole life into helping others.

Her charity shop, on Station Road in Wombwell, helps people struggling with their mental health and she says it can really be a lifeline for people.

She told the Chronicle: “We’ve got people who come in all the time and they just sit and talk with us.

“The shop itself is a real lifeline.

“I’m still wanting to create a safe house for people struggling.

“From January I’m going to be working with Barnsley College and people who are in their third year of training to be a mental health counsellor will be coming to work alongside us.

“I’m wanting to try and get into schools and speak about this, too.

“Talking can be such a big help.”

Five years on from Mathew’s death, Sue says it still doesn’t get any easier - and part of her role is to ensure people are listened to.

She said: “I tell people not to think that it’s going to get any easier because it doesn’t.

“That’s the truth of it.

“You learn to live with it.

“I’ve got some cracking volunteers who I couldn’t do this without.”

In Barnsley, the rate stood at around six deaths per 100,000 women and about 21 per 100,000 men.

Sue said that she still talks about Mathew every day to ensure his memory stays alive - and says that every life is important and shouldn’t be put down to just a statistic.

“I talk about by son every day because once you stop talking about them they’re forgotten,” she added.

“In the grand scheme of things these people are somebody’s brother, sister, auntie, uncle.

“But when they’re collating evidence and graphs they’re just a statistic to them.

“They’re just a number and nobody should just be a number.

“They were a real person.”

The Samaritans, a charity, said the situation should be treated as a ‘public health crisis’ and called on the government to take action to drive down climbing figures.

Leaders warned ‘suicide rates remain unacceptably high’, especially among men, and called on ministers to place suicide prevention at the centre of the upcoming ‘Men’s Health Strategy’.

Debbie Laycock, head of policy, public affairs and campaigns at Samaritans, warned the figures reflect an unchanging picture.

She said: “Behind these deeply concerning numbers are real people and many more devastated families, friends and communities that the statistics don’t show.

“Three in four suicides registered in 2024 were men, with middle-aged men continuing to have the highest suicide rate of any group.

“Suicide is preventable and targeted interventions to support men in their middle-age could help stop them from reaching crisis point.

“The government has a vital opportunity to act urgently to save lives with their upcoming Men’s Health Strategy.

“Preventing male suicide must be at the heart of it.

“No-one can assume that they won’t be affected by suicide, so it’s vital everyone knows that support is available.”

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SEPARATE figures to mark World Mental Health Day showed dozens of NHS 111 mental health crisis calls are being. made every day in Barnsley - with 2,329 reach-outs from people needing help in August alone.

It was the equivalent of 75 calls a day, but 374 111 calls to the mental health-specific line were abandoned before they could be picked up in the month.

Barnsley North MP Dan Jarvis urged people to speak out if they are struggling.

“As a society we’ve made a lot of progress in how we talk about our mental health - but we still have more work to do,” he said.

“Many who suffer with their mental health often feel unable to speak out and keep their feelings bottled up - especially men.

“From a young age, many men are still taught to be ashamed of showing weakness.

“Medical professionals have been calling out this old-fashioned attitude for being harmful to mental health for years now.

“Yet the idea that ‘real men’ - whatever that phrase means - should not show weakness still persists.

“This could partly explain why the suicide rate is so much higher among men than women: suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 50, and men are three times more likely to take their own lives than women.

“Getting men talking is key to breaking the stigma around mental health - listening is powerful and we need to keep conversations going.”