Finding a light in the dark

After Erbie Underwood overdosed last month at 18, his mum was determined his story would have a positive outcome, says Joe McNamee

WHEN Karen Underwood found Erbie in the morning, he was cold, but alive. He walked downstairs to the ambulance. In the hospital, though near unconsciousness, he was lucid, able to talk. Through tears, Karen told him they would survive this episode. But two days later, Karen’s beloved 18-year-old son was dead.

Tomorrow night in Cork Opera House, just a month after Erbie’s passing, comedian Des Bishop and Karen will host a concert in aid of Bounce Back, to raise funds for a home for Erbie’s basketball team, Fr Matthew’s, and for a youth café, a recording studio and a youth facility providing psychological support to young people and their families. Suicide prevention is its core ethos.