26-year-old Abbigail Smith was the apple of her mother's eye. She was a talented young woman with a beautiful voice and a kind heart.
But her struggles with autism and mental health meant that she was frequently in the hands of those working in Essex mental health services, spending years in inpatient facilities, trying to be saved. But Abbigail's mother Lisa, said that instead of being saved, she was traumatised by the things she saw and things that happened to her whilst in the states care. So much so, that it ended up killing her.
This is Abbigail's story, told by her mother Lisa.
Follow Melanie Leahy's fight for justice:
https://curementalhealth.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/470129540220825/
To find out more about the Lampard Inquiry:
https://lampardinquiry.org.uk/
Please note this episode includes both references to sexual assault, self-harm and suicide. If you need support, please see the links below to organisations that can help:
https://www.mind.org.uk/ - Mental health & Identity support
https://www.spuk.org.uk/ - Suicide Prevention UK
https://www.samaritans.org/ - The Samaritans
https://988lifeline.org/ - Suicide Prevention USA
https://www.suicidepreventionaust.org/ - Suicide Prevention Australia
https://www.pieta.ie/ - Suicide Prevention Ireland
https://www.thesurvivorstrust.org/ - For people who have been the victim of sexual abuse (UK)
https://www.rainn.org/ - Sexual Abuse Support USA
https://www.nasasv.org.au/support-directory - Sexual Abuse Support Australia
https://www.rcni.ie/useful-links/ - Sexual Abuse Support Ireland
If you would like to support for the show, you can do so here, thank you so much:
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/podcast4justice
EPUTS ROR via their website:
https://eput.nhs.uk/the-lampard-inquiry/
To see other podcasts by Naomi Channell, please find the information here:
https://linktr.ee/realtruecrimepodcast
Naomi produces a weekly true crime podcast called 'Real', as well as other multipart deep dives including:
'His Name Was Stuart Lubbock'
'Her Name Was Claudia Lawrence'
'Through The Wall: The Case Against Luke Mitchell'
'What Happened To Charlene Downes?'
'Who Killed Billie-Jo?'
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