Sister of West Mercia officer to skydive for men's mental health

28 August 2025

The sister of a West Mercia Police officer who is taking on a skydive in his memory says she wants to make it easier for all generations to talk about their mental health.

Nena Hodges admits she will be ‘completely out of her comfort zone’ when she does the challenge in honour of her younger brother PC Dane Roleston-Lowe.

Dane had served with West Mercia Police for more than 28 years and was based at Hindlip. He died earlier this year aged 50.

Nena said: “Dane would think I was bonkers. I think I'm bonkers.

PC Dane Roleston-Lowe and his sister Nena Hodges.

“It seemed like an amazing idea at the time. And it still is a good idea, but I'm just a bit nervy now it's getting closer.

“I hate heights. I’m completely out of my comfort zone.

“I think grief does crazy things to your mind.

Men's mental health

“I woke up around 3am one morning, not long after Dane had passed away, and thought that I really wanted to do something, and I really want to do something for men's mental health, particularly.

“I chose a skydive because I'm relatively fit. I can cycle and I can run and I can hike.

“So I thought, if I did something that was out of my comfort zone, it would be worth the feeling.”

Nena is doing the jump in aid of the charity Talk Club, which aims to help men improve their mental health.
She has already raised more than £1,000 ahead of the jump, which is due to take place on Saturday (30 August).

Nena said another motivation for doing the jump was to raise awareness of men’s mental health and to help breakdown barriers.

Break the stigma

“Talk Club aims to break the stigma of men's mental health,” she said.

“It seems to be a weakness for men to talk about being a bit grumpy or having problems, whether it's money worries or relationship or kids or whatever.

“To me, it's really important. I'm a 54-year-old mother of two and grandmother of four grandchildren, three of whom are boys.

“This is part of my driving force. I need them to know it's okay to talk.

“It's important for me, for them to know it's okay to sit chat and it's okay to say, actually I'm not feeling alright today.”

Support Nena on her skydive via her JustGiving page.