Tributes paid to 'particularly compassionate' Portsmouth anti-suicide campaigner Lara Kynvin, who took her own life

An anti-suicide campaigner who dedicated her time to helping people tragically took her own life because she was too ”embarrassed” to tell people she was struggling, an inquest heard.

“Stoic” Lara Kynvin, 57, was a leading voice for suicide awareness in Portsmouth but “didn't want to admit she was struggling”, her inquest was told.

Ms Kynvin, described as “compassionate and hardworking”, felt unable to tell the suicide prevention charity she worked for that she was thinking about ending her life.

A coroner said that Ms Kynvin - also an advisor to the NHS for mental health - felt like she could not tell people due to “pride or embarrassment”.

Ms Kynvin took her own life just seven weeks after organising an anti-suicide event in Portsmouth. She was found dead at her home in Waterlooville on November 14 last year.

Ms Kynvin campaigned for suicide awareness in Portsmouth after experiencing her own mental health struggles in the Covid lockdown in 2020 and making multiple attempts to take her life. She worked with several charities, was a project lead for Baton Of Hope UK, and was an NHS advisor.

Ms Kynvin's brother Nick Kynvin told Portsmouth Coroner's Court: “Lara was particularly compassionate. She was driven. I was five years older than her, and we had a normal upbringing with the usual sibling rivalry.

“She worked in Guernsey in her 20s before coming back to the UK and running a housesitting and dog-sitting service. In 2020 we received a call from a lady she had been working for that Lara was unwell and had entered a lake nearby to kill herself.

“We picked her up and she seemed embarrassed but okay. I think lockdown had a significant impact on her - she went on to take nine further attempts to take her life.”

During one of these attempts she broke her ankle which caused her chronic pain for the remainder of her life.

Ms Kynvin was admitted to a mental health hospital in October 2023 and underwent various therapies before being released feeling much better three months later.

She then got involved in suicide prevention charities, starting by making a quilt for charity Speak Their Names which she took to Westminster to raise awareness around mental health.

Ms Kynvin also started working as an NHS Advisor for mental health.

In 2024, Ms Kynvin was a ‘baton bearer’ in Brighton for a charity called Baton Of Hope, which has local community leaders walk through a city holding a baton to raise awareness around suicide prevention.

After taking part in Brighton, Ms Kynvin campaigned to have the project brought to Portsmouth.

She was selected to be the project lead in the city for the following year and the baton came to Portsmouth on September 26, 2025.

Ms Kynvin was pleased with the event, but after the ‘very high high’, she felt a ‘very low low’ when the work was over.

She contacted mental health services including her GP and the crisis team, but soon stopped engaging with them. She did not reveal the extent of her struggle with anyone.

On November 14, 2025, Ms Kynvin stopped answering her phone. Two friends went to her home to check on her and found her deceased at the address. Her death has been ruled as a suicide.

Hampshire Coroner Christopher Wilkinson said: “I have heard that she was a particularly caring, compassionate, and hardworking person who did so much in her life to help people after her own experiences with mental health.

“She wanted to help people with the NHS and charities, not least Baton Of Hope. It became a driving factor in her life. She brought energy and dedication to her charity work. But we know that commitment brought significant pressure on Lara.

“We know that in 2020 lockdown there was a significant deterioration in her mental health leading to multiple attempts on her life. She struggled with depression and anxiety and it resulted in her having to go into mental health care.

“While she didn’t respond to treatment at first, she ultimately had a significant breakthrough. When she was discharged, she was positive and forward-looking.

“She remained relatively stable with her mental health, though I appreciate she was never back to her pre-lockdown self. She was a stoic and private person, particularly when it came to her mental health.

“I think that’s what led her to help others struggling with their mental health problems in the same way she had. But I fear some of that was a distraction to her own mental health.

“It was a means to block out some of the struggle she was managing in her own mind. The significant time and effort she put into Baton Of Hope was not only a drain on her focus but a drain on her mental health too. I think the very high high on the project was met with a very low low.

“I know the charity tried to help and I do believe that sufficient provision was made for leaders to access help if they needed it. It’s clear that Lara decided not to follow that through.

“I think she didn’t want to admit she was struggling, especially to a charity whose main purpose was to help those who were struggling. We know she decided not to engage with health services despite the extensive efforts made to help her.

“Ultimately she felt she could not go on the way she was feeling. Lara took her own life while suffering from chronic pain and chronic depression.

“She gave so much to suicide prevention and to those who needed the support and leadership from her and others that I hope that in many ways what she managed to do in her living years was an inspiration and helped many others prevent their deaths.

“That she found herself in that situation, I can’t imagine, but perhaps she felt her job was done. I think the legacy she leaves is one her family should be very proud of.”

Anyone struggling or in need of someone to talk to can contact Samaritans at any time, day or night, by calling 116 123 for free or visiting the Samaritans website.