The eldest daughter of Oxford United legend Joey Beauchamp has spoken publicly for the first time about dealing with her loss, three years to the day since her father took his life.
Arguably Oxford's greatest-ever player, Joey sadly died by suicide on this day in 2022. Jessie Beauchamp has now come forward to speak to the Club, which comes as part of United's suicide prevention campaign, Can We Talk?.
Speaking in an emotional and powerful interview, Jessie is joined by Mike McCarthy, former news broadcaster and founder of suicide charity Baton of Hope, and Will Vaulks, Men's Team player. Jessie, Mike and Will, each share their own experiences, with all three losing family members to suicide.
Jessie, said in the interview: "I'm old enough now to speak about my experiences and I want to get my point across. I have had my time to process it and understand why he did what we did. Now, I want to speak up and help others who have been through what I have and talk about it.
"It was obvious something was going on with my dad throughout my childhood. He did struggle with addiction and depression, something which I could see. I was living in it and it was hard for me to see him the way that he was.
"It affected me in every way possible, but I just brushed it to the side. I had to go back to school and I just tried to act normal like nothing happened. People were awkward around me and it was quite hard to fit back into routine. Coming back home it was hard because my sister was struggling and I had to be there for her.
"At the start, I had lots of messages and people were asking I was OK, and now, people don't check up. It still affects my everyday and people don't understand that unless they have been through it.
"I feel better about speaking. I do feel like I can make a big impact as a young woman for this generation. I want people to talk. It gets the weight off your shoulder and it's better to let it out. It's always better to speak."
The collaboration is a commitment from Oxford United to help save lives and increase awareness of suicide. It will see Men’s Team players and coaches, Senior Leadership, and Club staff receive accredited in-person training from professionals who have dealt with the impact of suicide.
The partnership has already taken its first step, with Baton of Hope members delivering the first of their training programmes to the Men's First Team on Monday.
Oxford United will continue to work closely with the Joey Beauchamp Foundation within this partnership, and Oxford United in the Community, to ensure the message around suicide spreads as far and wide as possible.
