Zachary Geddis Break the Silence Trust

A message from Yasmin Geddis of the Zachary Geddis Break the Silence Trust:

The Zachary Geddis Break the Silence Trust is honoured to be the beneficiary charity for SHOTORAMA! Zachary was a member of the KUGB Northern Ireland Team and was a valued and loved student and team mate whose talent was undeniable. He is missed by many within the KUGB and his family have set up a Mental Health Trust in Northern Ireland in his honour to combat the mental health struggles and failures within Northern Ireland.

The Geddis Family run the Zanshin Shotokan Karate Club and have been affiliated to the KUGB for 15 years. Their message and story have touched the lives of thousands within Northern Ireland and now it is passing over to England, Scotland and Wales with the help of their Karate Family.

It is through the loss of Zachary that they began to think of the failures he faced as someone with mental health struggles since he was 16 years old. Since his passing and through further research, the need for a locally based, personal driven Trust was missing within the country. As, over half of Northern Ireland’s population has a mental illness, currently NI has the highest suicide rate in Europe but only receive 8% of the United Kingdom’s mental health budget.

Northern Ireland has a 25% higher rate of mental illness compared to mainland UK and more than one in four adults will experience mental illness in their lives and it is estimated that 30% of Northern Ireland’s youth are living with a mental health issue.

It takes approximately 4 weeks to get a doctor’s appointment and mental health units have a waiting time of up to 2 months. Once a child or adult is referred to the mental health team, they are assigned 6 weeks of counselling before being let go and having to begin their journey at the beginning again.

Suicide is the biggest killer in Northern Ireland – to date we have lost more people to suicide than what we did during the Troubles.

Zachary Geddis has become one of these victims and now his family have founded the Zachary Geddis Break the Silence Trust and have become one of Northern Ireland’s most recognised Mental Health Charities making a real difference within their communities.

The Zachary Geddis Break the Silence Trust is 100% voluntary, founded and ran by Yasmin Geddis, with the help of her Mother Louise and Father Terry they document their mental health journey with life without Zachary, raising awareness and saving lives.

Mission Statement

‘To bring more awareness to the community of Northern Ireland surrounding the topic of Mental Health and decrease the stigma surrounding Suicide’

Within the Zachary Geddis Break the Silence Trust we have 6 aims & objectives which we strive towards bringing to the community to succeed our mission statement. These aims & objectives have altered since the initial development of the Trust to ensure that we continue to speak for the needs of the people within Northern Ireland.

Aims & Objectives of The Zachary Geddis Break the Silence Trust

To establish and demonstrate the need for more accurate and immediate mental health services within Northern Ireland
To maintain the Trust as a permanent legacy of Northern Ireland
To promote that ‘Not All Wounds Are Visible’
To advocate as a voice for those suffering with mental illness and those bereaved by suicide to achieve the best aftercare available
To provide crisis intervention 24 hours a day 7 days a week for those in need
To highlight the importance of mental health awareness through workshops, awareness days and break the silence on mental health

Yasmin and her family are honoured to be named the KUGB’s charity for 2019/2020, since Zachary’s passing she has received the upmost support from her extended karate family and hopes everyone can come together and raise more awareness around this extremely important topic.