HEARTBREAK TO HOPE: WHAT CHESHIRE WOMAN OF THE YEAR MEANS TO ME
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HEARTBREAK TO HOPE: WHAT CHESHIRE WOMAN OF THE YEAR MEANS TO ME
By Jess Gallier
People often ask how The Martin Gallier Project came to be. The answer begins with my dad, Martin, and the day our family lost him to suicide in 2017.
In the days, weeks and months that followed, my family experienced first-hand the devastating impact suicide has on those left behind. As we navigated our own grief, we became increasingly aware of the gaps in support for people experiencing suicidal crisis and for families bereaved by suicide. We found ourselves asking how we could create a place where anyone experiencing suicidal crisis could find immediate hope, compassion and support.
That question changed the course of my life, and, in time, the lives of so many others.
Determined that no other family should experience what ours had, I founded The Martin Gallier Project, named in my dad’ s memory. What began with a handful of volunteers has grown into one of the UK’ s leading suicide prevention, intervention and postvention charities, providing immediate, free support to anyone experiencing suicidal crisis, anyone supporting a loved one through suicidal crisis, or anyone bereaved by suicide. There are no waiting lists, criteria or barriers to access. If someone needs us, we’ re there.
Since opening our doors, we’ ve supported tens of thousands of people across the North West, developed innovative services influencing suicide prevention nationally, published research with Liverpool John Moores University, and secured long-term NHS commissioning to expand our work. Every achievement belongs to an incredible team who share the same belief: that nobody should face crisis alone.
Earlier this year, I was honoured to be named Cheshire Woman of the Year 2026.
It’ s difficult to put into words what that recognition meant. When I accepted the award, I wasn’ t thinking about myself. I was thinking about my dad, every person we’ ve walked alongside during the darkest moments of their lives, and the team who make this work possible every single day. One person’ s name may be engraved on the trophy, but it represents the compassion, dedication and determination of so many people.
The award also shines a light on something much bigger than me: suicide prevention. Every conversation that challenges stigma, every person who reaches out instead of suffering in silence, and every life given another chance matters.
People sometimes describe me as resilient or inspirational, but the truth is that none of this was ever part of the plan. Like so many others, I experienced unimaginable loss. I had a choice: allow that loss to define me, or use it to create something that could help save lives. I chose the latter.
Receiving Cheshire Woman of the Year is an incredible honour, but the greatest privilege will always be the moments that no one else sees: the message from someone who says they’ re still here because they reached out, the family who tell us they finally felt understood, or the person who walks through our doors believing there is no hope and leaves knowing there is.
Those are the achievements that matter most.
Today, The Martin Gallier Project continues to grow. We have now delivered more than 60,000 life-saving suicide interventions – and we’ re still counting. Every one of those numbers represents a person, a family and a future. My hope is that everyone experiencing suicidal thoughts knows there is always another option and another conversation to have.
Because if it’ s between life and death, let’ s talk about the third option.
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