A MOTHER will be marking what would have been her daughter’s 16th birthday by paying tribute to child victims of suicide.

Georgia Newnham would have celebrated her birthday yesterday, but her mother is still trying to come to terms with her loss after she died while in foster care aged just 11.

Joanne Lewendon, from Hove, said: “I feel sad for her because she would have been going to her prom, she would have got her GCSE results.

“I just thought I would be with her on her 16th - we would have been doing something together and we’re not. I still find that hard to digest.”

Georgia was found dead with a can of Sure deodorant in her bed at the home of her foster parents in Peacehaven on May 15, 2017.

A coroner was unable to prove conclusively what caused her death, recording an open verdict and leaving Joanne with unanswered questions.

Four years on from Georgia’s death, Joanne is still campaigning and looking for closure.

“Everything has been taken away from Georgia and us as a family and we will have no answers.

“Every single day is hard but on days like this it’s even harder - and the reason we still feel like that is because she’s not here and we still don’t know what happened that night.”

Joanne hopes that the memorial event, at St Ann’s Well Gardens from 12pm this afternoon, will help break the taboo around child deaths from suicide, bullying and abuse, and encourage conversations.

She said: “It’s about bringing people together that are in so much loss and knowing they’re not alone.

“I hope that Georgia would love me for doing this.”

The event will be centred around a memorial tree planted in 2017, with those attending able to tie messages for lost loved ones.

Joanna encouraged children and young people in a difficult situation to seek out support and not be embarrassed to tell someone they trust.

She said that she will continue to campaign to find out what happened to Georgia on that tragic night.

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