Family and friends to host event in honour of a South Shields man who tragically took his own life

Those closest to Stephen ‘Dodsy’ Harris, who was from South Shields, are set to raise money for two mental health charities in his name at a fundraising event next month.

Dodsy’s loved ones were left heartbroken in October 2024 when the 53-year-old sadly took his own life after battling problems with his mental health.

To honour his memory, his family and friends have organised the ‘Make A Difference For Dodsy’ event - which will see money raised for The Red Bench Project and Billy’s Lifeline.

The event has been organised by Dodsy’s close friend, Lynn Peralta, 43, with help from his sister, Lynette Jones, 52, and it will be held at The Unionist Club, in South Shields, on Sunday, February 2.

Starting at 2pm, the day will feature live music from a host of bands, a tombola, a raffle, an auction, and talks about mental health services from Billy’s Lifeline, Andy's Man Club, Chill & Spill, and The Red Bench Project.

Lynette has told the Shields Gazette about how important the event is to her family and revealed what Dodsy would have made of it all.

She said: “It is actually helping us in our grief as it is something for us all to focus on and make some good come out of something that is so tragic.

“He always said that he wanted to get better and then help to mentor people with mental health problems so this is a way of doing that for him.

“He would have been over the moon about all of this because everyone who was there for him when he was going through his mental health problems has come together to help.”

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Lynn has expressed her surprise at the outpouring of support that she has received from the local community since she announced the event.

She added: “All the support that we’ve had has been overwhelming, it feels like a whole community has come together to help us.

“The amount of donations we’ve received is something that we never expected.

“Before we announced it, we made a list of businesses that we would contact to see if they would donate and in the end, I think we’ve only emailed two of them because everyone has been so supportive - it has been amazing.

“We want to let people know that they are not alone so that is why are we are also wanting to bring awareness to how our local charities can help people who are struggling with their mental health.

“On the back of this one, we are looking to do a couple more events which are in the pipeline, but nothing is set in stone yet.

“It is now our aim to raise as much money as we can for different charities in honour of Dodsy.”

Tickets for Make A Difference For Dodsy cost just £5 per person and are available online at: https://tickets.ents24.com/event/make-a-difference-for-dodsy/the-unionist-club/3265029.

You can also by tickets on the door on the day of the event at a cost of £7 per person.

For more information about Make A Difference For Dodsy, visit: https://www.facebook.com/events/484323337623858/.