Our Vision
One of David’s colleagues commented that if you had put together a list of 100 people in the restructuring market most likely to take their own life, David would not have been on it. And yet, at the age of 48, he did, less than a week after he had admitted that he was having suicidal thoughts.
I’ve had plenty of opportunities since then to think about what happened and how it could have been prevented. I have learned that suicide is the leading cause of death for people aged 20-34 and the biggest killer of men under the age of 50. Men aged 45-49 have the highest rate of suicide. In 2017, they were more than 50 times more likely to die from suicide than prostate cancer. And why? Not because the disease is unpreventable or untreatable, but due to ignorance and stigma.
It is because of this that the David Riddell Memorial CIO has been established. My strong desire to talk about what happened to David in the hope that this will help destigmatise mental illness and perhaps prevent such futile deaths occurring in the future. I also want to honour the man David was by supporting charities that invest in our young people and encourage them to lead fulfilling lives.
Nicole Guest
Founder Trustee and wife of the late David Riddell