A Message from Jono
As most of you will know, in March of this year I lost my sister, Charlotte. The support my family received from all of you during that time was overwhelming, and helped us through some of the hardest weeks of our lives. As time has passed and we have slowly tried to adapt to life without Charlotte, I found myself chatting to Tony and Paavo about how we might harness all the positive energy and love that we felt, and turn it into something positive and lasting in Charlotte’s memory.
Charlotte dedicated her professional life to maternal mental health, helping mothers and their babies through difficult times. Developing a mental health disorder at any time can be overwhelming but when this occurs during or after pregnancy, the situation has the potential to be life-changing for both mother and baby. Charlotte stood alongside women, babies and their families at the height of their distress. With compassion, skill and hope she provided a light at the end of many tunnels, and empowered women on their road to recovery.
Together with Charlotte’s colleagues, we have established the “Little Something” charitable fund, to support the work of the Devon NHS Perinatal Mental Health team that Charlotte was a part of, and help many more families in the months and years to come. We’ve called it that because Charlotte (who was one of Above & Beyond’s most vocal supporters) loved the song and felt the lyrics really captured the essence of her work.
On November 13 we will play Wembley Arena and all proceeds from the show will go to the “Little Something” fund.
One of the specific challenges here in the UK is the insufficient number of mother and baby hospital beds, meaning mothers are often separated from their families just when they need them most. Charlotte supported a national movement to increase the number of mother and baby beds, and she campaigned locally for a specialist mother and baby unit in Exeter, where she worked. We’d love for some or all of the funds raised to go towards this specific goal.
Every one of us has or has had a mother - none of us would be here without them in fact :) We can’t think of a better cause to get behind, and hope you’ll join us (and Charlotte’s friends, work colleagues and family) for this very special night on Friday November 13. Feel free to bring your mum along too.
