Nail technicians to fight for suicide awareness with Guinness World Record

That is the message from 29-year-old Erin Searle from Fareham, who has signed up to help to break a Guinness World Record with Nailing Mental Health.

In April, nail technicians from across the UK will attempt to do 6,078 shape and paints in green glitter, the colour of the mental health ribbon. This is to mark the lives of the 6,078 people who lost their battle to suicide in the UK and Ireland in 2015.

Erin, a nail technician who was affected by the suicide of someone close to her, said: ‘I want as many nail technicians from Portsmouth as possible to get involved in this.

‘The event is at The 02 in London and we will try to complete the challenge in eight hours. People can apply to do manicures or have their nails done, which costs £5. We really need more nail technicians on board as at the moment, there is only a couple of hundred. The funds raised will go towards mental health charity MIND, and will help those who are having problems and are in need of counselling. At the moment the wait time for that counselling is too long.’

The event was set up by Stephanie Staunton, from London, who is also raising separate funds on GoFundMe to cover the cost of setting up the event, which many of the nail technicians are donating to.

Erin added: ‘The nail industry in Portsmouth is huge, this is a great chance for people to get together, network, and make a difference.’

For more details about how to get involved or attend the event on Sunday April 2, e-mail [email protected] or search Nailing Mental Health on Facebook.