‘I’m still sad every day’: mother whose teenage son took his own life calls for stigma of mental illness to be tackled in Hong Kong
- Three years ago, Hong Kong mother Ann Pearce’s 15-year-old son Jamie, a talented student, took his own life. She did not even know he was unhappy
- As the third anniversary of Jamie’s death approaches, Pearce is launching a campaign to raise awareness of youth mental health issues
Ann Pearce is a courageous woman. Three years ago, she faced every parent’s worst nightmare. Her teenage son, Jamie Bruno, a popular student at a Hong Kong international school and passionate street artist, took his own life. He was 15 years old. Pearce did not even know her son was unhappy.
No parent can fully come to terms or move on from a tragedy of such terrible proportions, yet Pearce launched an anti-stigma campaign called Weez Week to mark the third anniversary of Jamie’s death on February 17.
“I’m still sad every day,” she says. “Sad for what happened, sad for all the potential that Jamie had, sad for him. It’s constant pain that will never go away.”
Pearce speaks softly and with deliberation. She appears fragile and struggles to contain her emotions, but insists she is not seeking public sympathy or attention for herself.
“I have been to hell and back, but the only reason I talk about these things is I don’t want more young people to lose their lives like this,” she says.
