Hampshire lawyer pens festive song for in-demand suicide prevention charity

Lorna Hackett – known as Lorna James in the music industry – wrote the music and lyrics for Find Your Light that is featured on the SOS Silence of Suicide Christmas advert, which is now airing on Sky during the festive period.

The advert highlights how difficult some people can find Christmas and encourages those who are struggling to reach out, with the song performed by Bournemouth’s Resonate! Choir, Marsha Webbe and Ava Mason–Allen, and is appealing for people to make a donation, if they can, to help the charity meet rising demand for its services.

SOS Silence of Suicide provides a free mental health, suicide prevention and emotional wellbeing helpline run by specially-trained volunteers.

The charity is gearing up for its busiest Christmas yet. Last October alone they took more than 8,000 calls, up from around 2,700 calls versus the same month the previous year – and charity bosses are expecting the trend to continue.

Lorna, who is a barrister specialising in human rights and public law at Hackett and Dabbs LLP, has been a trustee of SOS Silence of Suicide for more than four years and is passionate about removing the stigma attached to mental illness through her work with the charity.

She is also a house music producer and pianist with a background in classical music and released her debut album this year. She was a finalist in the UK Songwriting Contest in 2023 and has also had numerous tracks featured on BBC Introducing.

Lorna said: “Mental health is an issue close to my heart having seen a family member experience mental health issues and also from working with prisoners, a lot of whom experience problems around mental health.

“It’s something that affects so many people and reducing the stigma and encouraging people to ask for help is so important.

“I was extremely pleased to write the song for the SOS alternative Christmas advert – it’s a time when a lot of people struggle, and the number of suicides increase significantly.

“There is an expectation for everyone to be in a great mood and excited at Christmas, but at the same time, it comes with an incredible amount of pressure and can leave people feeling exhausted and empty.

“It was important for me to create a song which gives a message of hope and shows that support is out there for those that need it.

“This is the first time I have worked with a choir, and it was a special moment to see my song performed by 60 people – many of whom themselves have been impacted by suicide in some way.

“I hope that the advert reaches some of those in need this Christmas and encourages them to reach out.”

Further information about the charity is available by visiting https://sossilenceofsuicide.org/, and the song, Find Your Light, can also be streamed and downloaded on Spotify, Apple Music and other digital streaming platforms.

For more information about donating to the charity, visit www.sossilenceofsuicide.org/donate