THE family of a teenager who took his own life want to save others by helping men talk about their mental health.
Cameron Williams died last year, aged 19, after being left devastated by the death of a friend in a road crash.
His family are setting up a foundation in his name to end the stigma around discussing men’s mental health, to fund charities providing practical support and to direct men to help when they need it.
Cameron, described by his family as a “much-loved son, grandson, nephew, cousin, partner and friend”, took his life in September last year.
Cameron’s aunt, Amelia Care, said he had been devastated by the loss of his friend and work colleague Tyler Carley in a road accident on the Avon Ring Road in December 2023.
Cameron and Tyler were both passengers in a scaffolding lorry which overturned near Mangotsfield. Tyler died in the crash, while Cameron was not physically injured.
Amelia said: “He came out without a scratch but it absolutely devastated him.
“Looking back now you can tell that he was struggling, but he kept it to himself – he was very good at hiding it.
“He had survivor’s guilt and PTSD, and he always said ‘it should have been me that died’.
“We tried encouraging him to go to the doctors but he didn’t want to relive it – he was so traumatised by what happened.
“For somebody so young as Cameron to take his life is so completely shocking.”
Cameron lived with his mum Melissa Care in Downend, attending Stanbridge Primary School and Downend School as he grew up.
Cameron and Tyler, a former Mangotsfield School pupil, became friends after starting work together, and Amelia said they were planning to go to college together.
After Tyler’s death, Cameron couldn’t face working as a scaffolder again. He started a new job with a window fitting firm, and was enthusiastic about learning the trade.
But although he appeared to be rebuilding his life, going on holidays and attending a festival with his girlfriend, his mental health deteriorated over the nine months before his death.
Amelia said: “Cameron did not talk, he did not open up about how he was feeling, always brushing it off and saying he was OK. He wanted to be brave but this is what we want to get over – it’s OK not to be OK.”
Melissa, Amelia and their mum Karen Parker have set up the Cameron Williams Foundation to keep his memory alive and to help other men find help when they need it.
For its first fundraising event Amelia and four of Cameron’s friends will run the Bristol Half Marathon on May 11, to raise money for two charities.
SOBS – Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide – has been supporting Melissa and Amelia and the family through their grief. Talk Club is a male mental health charity that meets in Bristol
More information about the Cameron Williams Foundation is available on its Facebook page at tinyurl.com/4j8b7w7h
Donations can be made at the online fundraising page gofund.me/00f4aae7