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Scott getting advice in the ring
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“Our Scotty”

Scott was born on 6th January 2004, he was the middle child of three brothers and before long it was obvious he was quite the little character.

He was the funniest, silliest and most loveable boy you could ever know, even his presence made you smile. From a very young age he had a great energy and was always fun to be around.

A joker and the life and soul of any party. He was funny and playful in the house and always looking for opportunities to wind his brothers and me up.

His smile could not only light up an entire room, but the entire town and he gave the most amazing hugs which always made you feel safe and protected.

He was very family orientated and loved having his family around him, usually in his Nana’s house where he would sit regularly with family and friends, watching the game.

His friends were always very important to Scott and he loved nothing more than spending his nights and weekends hanging around with his group doing what all teenagers do.

Just loving life!

Popular with the boys of the group and even more so the girls.  He was such a huge character and presence but Scott took everything in his stride.  His laid back, never serious nature meant that if you had the pleasure of meeting him even briefly, you never forgot him.

Obviously, a massive sports fan who was blessed with a gift which made him excel in any sport he did but as you will see, football and boxing were his forte. He proudly spent time in the youth squads for teams such as Falkirk FC, Scotland BC, Hearts BC, Rangers BC and Partick Thistle Pro Youth. He also played with local teams such as Syngenta Juveniles and LK Galaxy before moving into boxing in 2018.

Respectful and polite at all times, Scott never really caused me any problems at all.

We were the best of friends as well as mother and son.  We spoke every day and were extremely close. He opened up to me about everything in his life. You could say we supported each other.

He really is a credit to me and always will be. Although I don’t feel like I can take any praise for this as I believe that was just who Scott was.  He really did just have a brilliant nature and was a wonderful person, inside and out whom everyone loved dearly.

Not only am I proud of his achievements but I am proud of the boy he was and the man he was growing into. He was never without his massive smile and always clowning around but devastatingly now our home will never sound, feel or be the same again without his presence. I miss his loud voice constantly shouting Maw or Sammy which he did daily to wind me up. Shouting from one room to another at his brothers while playing Xbox and usually getting beaten. Their toy fighting or him just generally winding them up to the point they shouted at me to get him out of their room. All the while, Scott would just laugh at them as he always knew he would get away with it due to that huge smile.

School was never Scott’s strong point. He excelled at PE and woodwork but anything academic was just pointless in Scott’s opinion. He did, however, manage to stay at school until 4th year and took up an apprenticeship with his father as a joiner. He was thriving at this and had a very promising career ahead of him. He never missed the opportunity of course to remind people that his services would never be free. He loved the idea of earning his own money and liked the best of clothes and trainers, even though he had far too many. Trainers and designer clothes were his thing.

He threw himself 100% into anything he was involved in and in true Scott fashion never disappointed.  After leaving football and moving into boxing, within a year he was the Scottish Amateur Boxing Champion 2018.  He really did have something special and again he had a promising career ahead of him in boxing.

Scott was the strongest and most focused person I knew so for him to think that leaving us was his best and only option is so hard for us all to try and understand and I doubt we ever will even begin to understand it.

Scott bravely spoke up about his struggles hoping that help would come but it never did and by the time he did get a face to face appointment, which came after ten months after being on a waiting list with no support whatsoever, well we believe by this time it was just too late and Scott had given up as ten days later Scott took his own life.  As Scott’s pain ended our pain truly begun and we now need to live with the unbearable pain of losing Scott and the realisation and guilt that we didn’t save him, every day.

Could this of been prevented had Scott and us as a family been given some form of support?  We believe so yes, but now we will never know for sure.  So using the money so kindly donated by the public to Scott at the time of his passing, I decided to create an everlasting legacy for him.

I wanted to keep his memory alive as much as possible following his passing with the public just as much as it is in the hearts of the people who loved him the most. Not only because he deserves to be remembered as he really did accomplish so much during his short life but also as a reminder to people that there is hope, there are people willing and waiting to help, I want people to see Scott’s face, recognise him and his foundation and know that help is here for them and also think about the devastation losing Scott has caused to so many and realise that suicide is not the answer.

Poor mental health can affect anyone, any age, from any background regardless of what you have or what your dreams or aspirations are. Scott had a promising career ahead of him. He was heading towards being signed professionally with his Boxing Academy. He was an extremely popular and well-known boy. On the outside, he seemed to have everything and that huge smile of his hid the constant pain and suffering that no child or young person should have to deal with.

Unsure of how to deal with Scott’s difficulties, I placed my full trust in the system and the advice of the experts.

I wasn’t even aware or signposted to organisations in our area that you can approach without a GP referral. I was never told nor was I given any help with supporting Scott in managing his illness. Not knowing which way to turn or even if there was anywhere that I could approach for help, I regrettably waited on the help from the organisations we had been referred to through our GP practice.

This is now a massive regret and one that I will have to live with for the rest of my life.

I was always my sons biggest advocate as I am for all my boys yet with no guidance, knowledge or understanding of Scotts illness I was completely helpless and with no one offering any information or support we were completely at a loss on how to help him or keep him safe.

I as a mother am now determined also to put in place the support and information for parents that I feel would have benefited us so much in helping Scott and had we had this at the time it is my honest opinion that we would have had a completely different outcome.

Education and understanding of mental health is key!

We, as a community, need to come together to educate ourselves to enable us to protect our youths or any of our loved ones who are suffering poor mental health.

Let them know that we are here, and no problem is too big or small. Whatever the problem, let’s try and fix it. With the right care and support, I hope we can challenge this upcoming mental health pandemic and change the route for so many youths who are struggling, some in silence and some shouting out for help.

No one should need to deal with the things Scott did day-to-day with only us, his family for  support. No family should need to endure the pain we have since 1st January 2021 and will continue to endure for the rest of our lives. More importantly, no person young or old should feel like the only and best option out there for them is to leave this earth and everyone who loves them so dearly behind.

Our system is failing our kids massively and leaving many families to live in fear day-to-day without any support, information or tools to handle a situation which to many is alien. Because of this they have no idea where to even begin supporting their kids through what they are experiencing. Yet we are the ones left with the guilt when things go so terribly wrong.

We need to know how to keep our kids safe.

I am now my sons voice and I will be heard.  Children and young people need to be reassured that there is help out there for them and given the right support they can and will get better.

Join us in – Scott’s Campaign For Change!

Poor Mental Health needs no apparent trigger to present but it does need to be treated early.

Anyone who can identify with my son’s story or journey, any parent, carer, family member or friend who relates either to Scott’s story or my own journey in trying to support Scott and the crippling pain of our grief that we now deal with every second of every day.

Reach out! We are here for you.

Samantha Merrilees

Founder

Scott Martin Foundation

See His Face, Hear His Name, Recognise His Foundation & Its Aims.