"I'm leaving a little bit of Michael in everyone's lives": Eugene embarks on fundraising Everest Base Camp challenge 10 years after brother’s murder
Watch Eugene Scardifield talking about the support he received from SAMM following his brother Michael Scardifield’s murder in 2015.
Fratton man Eugene Scardifield is climbing to Everest Base Camp in April next year to raise money for the charity SAMM (Support after Murder and Manslaughter).
Eugene and his family were supported by SAMM after his brother Michael Scardifield – who grew up in Portsmouth – was murdered by his friend Martin Birchall in Stoke-on-Trent in 2015. Birchall was later sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in jail following a trial.
Ahead of the challenge, Eugene has described himself as, “a broken hearted brother that made a promise to keep his brother's memory alive.
“Everything is called Michael's legacy, Michael's journey. Everything I do, I'm leaving a little bit of Michael in everyone's lives that I hopefully help and touch.
“The 30th of May 2015, everything did change and life is very different now. Ten years this year and still quite often it doesn't even feel like ten days. He was just a wonderful human being and I do believe the world should know who he was and who he is through me and through my family. I've said a few times this ten years has been ten years of triumph and trauma.”
Michael’s mother Helen Smith said: “It took me a long time to accept that Michael is dead. I sort of pushed my grief to the back of my mind. Because there was a police case, I felt I had to focus on that because who was going to speak for Michael if not me?
“You get assigned homicide victim support and you get a family liaison officer. When the trial is over, they disappear and you are just left. And I just thought, I wonder if there is anybody out there for people and I just typed into Google support after murder and SAMM came up.”
Eugene said: “I couldn't see how anybody could change or take away how I was feeling and how hurt I was.
“I had to find a way to, again, channel those thoughts, feelings and emotions in a positive way and not in the bottom of a bottle.
“I was stood in my mum's kitchen and it was, what are you doing? What are you doing? And I knew how much I was drinking, I was just blinkered and in denial to the dangers of how much and the impact it was having on the people that loved me. And it was in that moment that I knew that I had to make that phone call to SAMM National.
“Everyone that's involved in the charity had someone taken by homicide, murder or manslaughter, so they've got a genuine understanding of what we go through. There's telephone support, there's retreats that they run. Because of all the support they've always shown me, I wanted to give something back to them, try and raise their profile, try and raise some money for them as well.”
CEO of SAMM National Jo Early said: “I think Eugene is one of the most inspirational people I've come across in this community of bereaved people. To go from how Eugene was all those years ago and how he was so badly affected by his brother's death, to be able to function again and do all of this fundraising and become and support others is absolutely incredible.
“Helen's exactly the same. To go through all the challenges both of them have gone through, to then give back so much to others and think about others is truly inspirational.”
Michael’s cousin Ginny Silvester said: “I know it's hard, it's really hard because he's keeping Michael's memory alive, which is lovely. Michael will be so proud of him, proud of everything he's done. He'll be looking down there with a big smile on his face.”
Eugene said: “I don't want people to feel alone in their trauma. I don't want people to feel alone in their mental health. I don't want people to feel alienated and isolated. And I'm not suggesting for a moment that anybody should go out and take on anything I have done, but if it can give them the hope just to get up, get dressed, have a shower, wash their hair and go to the shop and if that's the best thing they can do that day, then that's a good thing.”