Memory of tragic Grant will live on

Grant Benvie, described as a caring and dedicated friend, died last February after he took his own life.

He was seen as the type of person to help others when in need, making his own plight all the more heart-wrenching.

His sister Catherine paid tribute to Grant's "outstanding character" and altruistic nature in life.

The local woman has since been inspired to undertake psychology and counselling studies at university with the long-term aim of launching a support project in his name.

Catherine told the Advertiser: "He was a fitness fanatic, bikes being his life. He was downhill cycling, hillwalking, BMXing.

"The love of his life was his motorbike and he never had a bad bone in his body – he didn't drink, take drugs or smoke.

"If he saw something that wasn't right, he would help.

"The big thing for me is the amount of people round about him his age that he knew that were struggling and he went out of his way to lift them up.

"He's pulled loads of people out of the gutter – and he couldn't even pull himself out of it."

In an effort to keep the memory of grant alive, Catherine arranged for a custom-made bench, in the shape of a bike, to be installed.

The memorial will be officially unveiled this Friday, April 19, at Northwood Road in Tullibody, on what would have been Grant's 25th birthday.

Catherine hopes it will help raise awareness of all the other young men who are struggling, but unable to ask for help.

She said the loss was "life-changing", but she has seen too many similar suicide tragedies, branding the issue an "epidemic".

Her aim on the long run is to make sure that young men in particular receive the support they require in their time of need and is undertaking a BSc (Hons) degree to gain the expertise needed to launch a support project further down the line.

Original plans were to install the bench at the skate bowls in Stirling's Kings Park – a place where Grant, a sponsored BMX talent, often practised his tricks.

That arrangement fell apart, but Clackmannanshire Council and Provost Tina Murphy stepped in to help.

Their efforts proved pivotal with Catherine reserving special praise for their "absolutely fantastic" support.

In the end, it proved to be a fitting site as it is now right on the street where Grant's biking days began.

Thanks also go to Gary McGrouther of local small firm GM Welding Services Artistic Ironworks who went "above and beyond".

He took the time to understand who Gary was as a person and created a bespoke bench, which turned out to be an absolute work of art,

Provost Tina Murphy, who is no stranger to tragedy either, having unexpectedly lost a close family member six years ago, was happy to support the idea.

She said: "I can understand the pain that they are going through.

"There's been an awful lot of young men, in particular, committing suicide.

"I've been to several of their funerals and it's a heart-break for the whole family and it's something that never leaves you.

"So, I fully supported her getting a bench there because that's something precious and it is close to hand, they can sit there and have a quiet minute and remember."

Over the past year, the Alloa Advertiser has been campaigning to encourage more young men to open up on their mental health.

Every week, we print a column from a member of the public or practitioner, giving an insight into the minds of those who are struggling.

The feature was launched last March by Declan Brown, following the tragic death of his brother Conor in Alloa.

To write a colum for the paper, email editorial@alloaadvertiser.co.uk

Anonymity will be respected upon request.