Boy whose brother was murdered and best pal died of cancer features in DIY SOS
Sitting in the playroom of his house, ten-year-old Harvey was watching morning TV when his parents came in.
The next words they uttered shattered his young life and became what he now sees as the day his childhood ended. “Your older brother’s been killed, been murdered,” they told him that terrible Father’s Day in 2015. I immediately didn’t believe it,” Harvey, now 19 and a farmer based in Derbyshire, says.
“I remember sitting next to a police officer, asking why us? What did we do to deserve that?” His older brother Edward had tragically died in a house fire that was started deliberately by someone unknown to the family. “His death left me confused, devastated and angry,” says Harvey, who has been supported by Treetops Hospice, which is to be featured in tonight’s DIY SOS Children In Need special.
The newly completed building for Treetops Hospice (BBC Children in Need/Neil Sherwood)“I struggled at school with concentration as all I could think about was how angry I was at the world,” he adds. “Anything I could be angry at I was, I think I was this way as I couldn’t allow myself to be sad.” Just four years later, while coping with this immeasurable grief he also lost his best friend Billy aged 21 to cancer which was a lot for the youngster to cope with.
“His death made me feel a sadness I could never explain yet he helped me realise that you can’t be angry at the world, the whole time he was dealing with cancer he never frowned he only smiled,” he explains. Treetops, which is located in Risley, Derbyshire, offers support and counselling for children and young people who are experiencing traumatic bereavement.
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Harvey credits the service with saving his life - although at first he did not want to attend the grief counselling. “I went on and off to Treetops for a few years and it did take a lot of persuading for me to stick with it. I didn’t want help, I wanted to stay angry as I didn’t know how to be anything else.
Nick Knowles and Pudsey (BBC Children in Need/Neil Sherwood)Counselling allowed me to have something for a long time I thought I’d never have again - a smile,” he says. “It saved my life.” On the show, Nick Knowles and his team, alongside BBC Radio 2 presenters including Zoe Ball, Jeremy Vine and Scott Mills, help build Treetops a new haven to support kids at difficult times in their lives.
“Treetops did deliver this support in one of their current buildings, but it wasn’t quite fit for purpose and a little bit too clinical for children,” says Nick. “So we’ve created something that will be a welcoming place where they will be able to come and feel comfortable and at ease, and in turn Treetops can continue to support children for many more years to come.”
And Scott says: “It’s great to get everyone together, and use the power of the radio to help get these builds over the line. The Radio 2 listeners are incredible at coming together, and they did not let us down with this one. People from all across the UK helped us find volunteers and materials to help make this build an incredible place for Treetops Hospice.”
Harvey (front) and brother Edward (back)The results have left the Harvey delighted. “The new building is just amazing,” he says. “It’s hard to put into words my thanks to everyone involved, it will allow young people to go on and pursue their dreams, as without Treetops I would have never been able to follow and achieve mine.” Harvey became a farmer because he was inspired by his brother Edward’s love for the outdoors.
“I wanted to be like him,” he says. “We used to stay at our great uncle’s farm in Dorset and it was something out of all of my siblings, only something me and him did so it was our thing. That made me want to pursue my dream into agriculture even more when he passed.”
The teenager advises anyone who is grieving to seek help from organisations such as Treetops. “If any young person feels angry or sad or alone, just know that you are not alone there is always somebody that will help,” says Harvey. “The first step is the hardest but it will be the best thing you will ever do in your life.”
* Watch DIY SOS Children in Need Special Thursday 16 November, BBC One, 9pm.
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