Groundbreaking therapy for survivors of the Hillsborough disaster is to be given a boost this year as more than 100 people are expected to raise up to £10,000 for the treatment.
The therapy, although not available through the NHS, has been funded by the Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance, a non-profit organisation designed to help anyone whose life was turned upside down by the events of April 15, 1989. Ninety-seven men, women and children died as a result of a crush on the terraces allocated to Liverpool supporters when the club met Nottingham Forest in an FA Cup semi-final. Hundreds more were injured in what remains Britain's worst stadium disaster.
Now, more than 100 people are expected to take part in a 21-mile walk on July 2 as people look to raise as much money as possible to help fund the specialist therapy that is said to have a 98% success rate. So far 117 people have been helped by the therapy, including three Nottingham Forest fans.
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Emily Short, one of the people taking part in the walk, spoke about what it means to help the organisation. Emily is taking part due to her dad being at Hillsborough and her best friend's mum, Diane Lynn, being the chairwoman for the organisation.
The 23-year-old told the ECHO about how Diane feels about the group raising money for the HSSA: "She starts crying every single time we talk about it. She struggled to talk about Hillsborough ever since it happened, it's only in the past couple of years she's opened up about it.
"She runs the HSSA Twitter and helps out with everything. I've been friends with Hannah [Dianne's daughter] for years and we've always wanted to be an advocate for it so we joined in and we're going to do the full 21 miles."
Emily also spoke about the importance of the work of the HSSA, and how it has impacted the city as hundreds of people were affected following the tragedy. She said: "People have said that it's helped them in a completely different way and that it's changed their lives by just talking to somebody way.
"Not everyone who is helped was at Hillsborough, people have had relatives pass away there and they need help mentally. It's not just the bereavement of someone dying, it's also because it was such a tragic event.
"It's done so much for the city and we see from people at the games how much good the HSSA has done. It's something that belongs to the city and we will try and get as much support as we can."
To read more about the fundraiser and to donate, click here.
