The Chris Nota Initiative is in dedication to Chris. It will contain blogs, vlogs and rescources on mental health and suicide prevention, mostly specifically relating to autistic people.
Our Patron Julia Caro has written the below text to tell you all about her son Chris, please do read to get a sense of who Chris was.
"I want to tell you all about our Chris.
Chris was a gentle giant. He was incredibly humble and very beautiful. He loved people and never ever judged or thought badly of them. He wanted to be with them and among them living his life. He went out of his way to know them.
He was a thrill seeker, loving roller coasters and would, if so dared, jump up on top of a police car and dance. But he was deeply innocent.
While Chris was a whizz bang kind of a guy there was also always a deep and centred calm within him. Being around him was heavenly and calming. Peaceful.
Chris loved pizza and music. He said that music was his therapy.
When Chris was a toddler he knew no fear and never needed a daytime nap like other children. He was into everything and rooting around to explore.
If I turned my back on him for a second he’d be out the door in his t shirt and nappy dashing round the neighbourhood barefoot on one of his beloved scooters. Or he’d climb out of a bedroom window to stroll on top of the slanted glass extension roof.
The first time he ever lied was the most joyous day. He only ever told little lies but he concealed the bulk of his hurt from me. He told doctors that he was protecting me. I wanted to protect him.
We loved and trusted each other very much. Our lives were far from easy because of the challenges that Chris faced in a world that was the wrong shape but we all loved each other and were happy. We laughed at every opportunity.
Girls at Chris’s local college say that he helped them give their presentations in class when they were having anxiety attacks. They tell me that when they walked into their large college and saw Chris in the cafeteria smiling they knew that they would be able to go and sit with him and that he would make them feel that they were welcome and that they belonged.
When we lost you our town was plunged into darkness and hundreds came out publicly to make music in your memory.
Thank you for reading about our Chris."
By Julia Caro (Hopper).
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