Portadown mum who set up charity Autism Hive after her son's tragic death in line for major Lottery award

Julia McKeever set up the charity to provide suicide preventions measures to people with autism following the loss of her son Luke O’Hara, and has now been nominated in the outstanding individuals’ section of the 2023 National Lottery Awards. 

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Luke had been living independently for some months when the pandemic struck but sadly his family found him dead in February 2021.

His mum Julia has now been shortlisted in the Community/Charity category because of her incredible work in her local community. Autism Hive supplies suicide prevention measures, intervention and post-intervention support for the autistic community and their families in Northern Ireland. Suicide is regarded as one of the leading causes of death for people with autism.

As the only autism specific agency offering these services in the region, where one in 20 children have a diagnosis of autism, the Autism Hive offers an invaluable lifeline for those in need.

Earlier this year, they received National Lottery funding of £6,176 from the National Lottery Community Fund to develop a ‘Train the Trainer’ course focusing on suicide awareness for supporting an autistic person in crisis.

Julia said: “It’s fantastic to be nominated. I have such a passion for The Autism Hive because I truly believe we can save lives. I wouldn’t be doing this without Luke, and he really is the centre of everything we do. Every direction I take is looking back at his life and making sure other kids in his situation don’t do what he did. I’m still grieving, but this work has got me up out of bed and gives me a direction to keep going in Luke’s memory.”

The National Lottery Awards are the annual celebration of the ordinary individuals and organisations who do extraordinary things with the help of National Lottery funding.  

This year, 3,780 people and projects were nominated for the work they have carried out with the help of National Lottery funding. 

Over the summer, a panel made up of representatives of The National Lottery and partners, will decide the winners in each of the individual categories. 

Winners will be revealed in the autumn and will receive a £5,000 cash prize for their organisation and a coveted National Lottery Awards trophy.   

Jonathan Tuchner, from The National Lottery, added: “The National Lottery Awards honour those who have stepped up and have gone the extra mile to make a difference in their communities, especially during these challenging times. 

“Thanks to National Lottery players and the £30 million raised each week for good causes, thousands of individuals and projects throughout the UK have been making an incredible difference in their areas, and this is our chance to highlight and celebrate the exceptional work of these selfless local heroes.”   

There will also be a Special Achievement Award to celebrate an outstanding individual whose selfless dedication has improved the lives of the people around them, especially during these challenging times.  

In addition to the outstanding individual’s category, an online public vote will be held this year to find The National Lottery’ UK Project of the Year. These nominees will be whittled down to 16 finalists, with a UK-wide public vote in September deciding the winner.