A HAIRDRESSER has started a campaign to raise awareness for a mental health charity in memory of her sister who died last year.

Lucy Melvin, 28, started a campaign to raise money for Oxfordshire Mind, a charity which offer advice and support for people with mental health issues.

Her sister, Helen Melvin, died last year after suffering from depression and bipolar disorder.

Miss Melvin, of Summertown, wants to eliminate stigma associated with mental health.

She said: “The fundraising is going really well. We have raised over £500 so far.

“I want to stop stigma against people with mental health issues.

“My sister died last year and she suffered from depression and was bipolar and I have friends that suffer with mental health issues.

“I think it is judged and I think people need to be more aware. A lot of people are suffering.”

Miss Melvin, along with work colleagues Ashli Kimber, 26, Sarah Cherrill, 26, Gerogia Elliston, 18, Shane Conroy, 28, and Shirley Popham, 52, dressed up in onesies and sold cakes they baked outside Popham Hair Salon in North Parade Avenue on her sister’s birthday.

She raised about £250 from the sale and hopes to continue her fundraising campaign by doing more cake sales and finding new ways to help people.

Miss Melvin said she remembers her sister as a “beautiful and bubbly sister” and strives on being positive in her memory.

Helen, who had her own haulage company, died in January 2014.

Miss Melvin, who did not want to reveal what her sister died from, added: “I saw my sister endure mental health issues for years. It was terrible when we lost her. She would have been 40 last Thursday.

“This campaign means everything to me. It’s allowing me to move forward and be positive instead of being negative.

“It breaks my heart that she died and I don’t want people to go through what I went through because it does not affect one person, it affects everyone.”

The hair stylist also wants to raise cash and raise awareness of the importance of aftercare for patients that have received support to help them manage their conditions.

Patrick Taylor, chief executive of Oxfordshire Mind, said stigma about mental health problems still exists and that negative views and misunderstandings can make life more difficult for people who are already struggling.

He said: “It can also make people more reluctant to seek help, which means that they aren’t getting the support that they need to help them manage their illness and recover. Mental health problems affect millions of people – one in four of us will have a mental health problem at some point. At Mind, we’re working hard to make it easier for everyone to be up-front about our mental health problems and to get the help we deserve.”