Jonny Benjamin and Neil Laybourn: #FindMike Social Media Campaign

Mind’s Making a Difference award was presented to Jonny Benjamin and Neil Laybourn in 2015 for Jonny’s social media campaign #FindMike. The campaign made headlines and moved people across the world, as Jonny searched for the Good Samaritan, ‘Mike’, who talked him out of taking his own life.

The campaign started as a high-profile social media search and became a global news story. It reached over 300 million people around the world and resulted in Neil and Jonny being reunited. Since then, Jonny and Neil have continued to campaign for better mental health. They spend much of their time helping organisations across the world on how to offer support to those who need it, from schools and universities to large corporations and everybody in-between.

The #FindMike campaign became the subject of Channel 4’s award-winning documentary The Stranger on the Bridge.

Heloise shares her thoughts

Heloise is a lived experience media volunteer for Mind. We asked her to share her thoughts on the campaign, as someone who, like Jonny, has experienced suicidal thoughts.

“To hear about this campaign and to know there are people like Mike out there. Lovely strangers that are out there looking out for others. That gives me a lot of courage for the future.”