Mental ill health does not define your life. With the right support, you can reach the light at the end of the tunnel. Community CVS have had the privilege of working with some great people who have lived experience of periods of poor mental health. Here’s LE’s story. LE is a wonderfully talented and highly motivated individual who volunteers at the VOICE Breakfast Club and Phoenix Hub.
LE came to Community CVS after a period of hospitalisation due to his mental health. He is highly educated with a BEd and has worked in recruitment worldwide. The pressure of working in stressful jobs led to his Bipolar condition surfacing, caused in the main by reliance on electronic technology, living his life online. He recognised that this technology was making him ill but the DWP were insisting that he use it for his Universal Credit. His accommodation was at Hillcrest Hotel in Blackburn which was highly unsuitable for him and was causing him further stress. He had always been a contributor to society but was new to the area and didn’t know how to go about volunteering.
Community CVS helped me start this new part of my life. Things will never be how they were but I now realise that”s a good thing.
– LE
Community CVS introduced LE to the Breakfast Club where he would receive support from the group, not only for volunteering but also for support in accessing other services he may need. Community CVS referred him into Salvation Army where the accommodation is supported and is much more stable.
Community CVS encouraged him to use the office technology so he didn’t have to own any himself, supporting him with his Universal Credit contacts. Further to this, we supported him with his GP to submit a letter to the DWP stating that their insistence on using technology would have a detrimental effect on his health.
He was enrolled on the Volunteer Training, Naloxone and Boundary Setting which would help him better settle into his volunteer role. He was encouraged and supported to take part in the Recovery Sector’s “Olympic Games” where he was welcomed into the Community CVS fold further.
LE”s temperament suited Breakfast Club very well. He is a naturally engaging man who makes everyone feel welcome. We’ll be sorry to be losing him for 6 months but he knows he is always welcome.
– VOICE Breakfast Club
LE’s accommodation has led him into volunteering more with the Phoenix Hub, working Monday to Friday supporting other people who are in crisis. He has taken a lead role with them when presenting their Project to Grant Funders. He continues to volunteer with Breakfast Club. LE has undertaken further training – Bluelight and ABCD.
LE will be moving to Thailand In October to teach English, using his BEd. Community CVS assisted him with this process, helping him book flights and accommodation and securing his accommodation back at the Salvation Army when he returns after 6 months.
(Image: Fernando Makoto via Pexels.com).
