In conjunction with this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (running from May 18th-24th), Grant Hutchinson, a former member of the now folded Scottish indie rock band Frightened Rabbit, has spoken up about the mental health charity Tiny Changes, which had been set up in memory of his deceased brother Scott. Following a years-long battle with depression and mental ill-health, Scott, the founding member of the band and its lead songwriter, passed away in May 2018 following a brief disappearance west of Edinburgh.
The Tiny Changes charity was established in Scott’s memory, with their mission statement being to “[change] how young people in Scotland are affected by mental health issues. We want to see a Scotland where young people are listened to when they talk about their mental health,” to prevent a repetition of anything like the suffering endured by its founder’s older sibling.
Reflecting on the first year of the charity’s operation, drummer Grant has been quoted in a report by NME as saying, “For the family, it’s been a strain … but it’s been really exciting for the charity to become what it is and what it will be.” Specifically highlighting his brother’s experiences, Grant adds, “We’re very mindful of the reason for the charity existing, but we also don’t want Scott’s death to be too big a part of the charity. We wanted him, his character, his personality and the life that he led to be the drive it, without too much focus on the end of his life.”
— Frightened Rabbit (@FRabbits) May 11, 2018
Serving as a constant tribute to the band’s guiding light is a tweet pinned at the head of the official Frightened Rabbit Twitter page, affirming that the 36-year-old had left a “legacy of hope, kindness and colour that will forever be remembered and shared.” That legacy is certainly a fixture of the band’s own celebrated history – Scott’s battle with anxiety during childhood reportedly inspired the nickname “Frightened Rabbit,” which of course became the band’s namesake during their decade-and-a-half tenure from 2003 to 2018.
