Hi! My name is Nicky Clargo and I'm taking part in Trek Slovenia in aid of Oxfordshire Mind from 24th - 30th June 2011!
I’m doing this trek in memory of a very special friend, MARK SMYTH, and his Mum, JUNE CLARK. Mark sadly died after an attempt to take his own life in October 2009. I met Mark in 1990 and he was my partner for two years. Mark loved travelling, he had a passion for martial arts and loved playing his guitar and singing. In his younger days he worked as a security manager (door man) which is where we first met. In fact Mark’s very first words to me were by song… I was sat on the staircase in The Palace Nightclub in Witney and Mark serenaded me by singing “You’ve lost that loving feeling”. He had a lovely voice and soon all of the doorman regularly joined in with him. Bless him. Mark later became a part-time fireman and then a computer technician. He was a wonderful Father to his two children, Ethan and Elina, Son to June and Joe, and Brother to his siblings. All those who knew Mark will remember him as a kind, caring, funny and loving man. He was indeed a great friend to everyone.
Mark’s last year was a very troubled one but he always tried to hide it behind his smile. When I went to visit him in hospital with his Mum he would just say “Don’t worry about me… I’ll be alright…” I just wish he was here to say those words now.
I’ve been working for Oxfordshire Mind for 15 years and it saddens me whenever I hear about tragic events like this. Mind plays a vital role in our community as we help people who are experiencing mental and emotional health problems such as anxiety, bereavement, depression, loneliness, post-natal depression, recovery from breakdowns, stress and schizophrenia. It is a wonderful organisation to be part of and I’m proud to say I have helped raise thousands of pounds to help people who, like Mark, have experienced life as a struggle at some point.
I hope that Mark can now rest in peace and that everyone will remember Mark with a bright shining smile and a twinkle in his eye.
Thank you for helping me help others. Nicky ;o) x
INFORMATION ABOUT OXFORDSHIRE MIND
Oxfordshire Mind currently provides:
A network of fifteen well used, effective day services which are based in Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, Carterton, Chipping Norton, Didcot, Henley, Kidlington, Oxford, Thame, Wallingford, Wantage and Witney.
Our central office offers a help and information service on all mental health issues and local resources. Tel: 01865 263730. We stock a large array of booklets on medication, legal rights, mental health and illness.
Understanding leaflets available: Anxiety Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism in Children, Bereavement, Caring, Childhood Distress, Dementia, Depression, Dual Diagnosis, Eating Distress, Gender Dysphoria, Learning Disabilities, Manic Depression, Mental Illness, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Paranoia, Personality Disorder, Phobias, Post Natal Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress, Premenstrual Syndrome, Schizophrenia, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Self-Harm, Talking Treatments, The Psychological Effects of Street Drugs.
We also stock a large array of ‘How To’ leaflets such as How to: Cope with Relationship Breakdowns, Cope as a Carer, Survive Student Life, Assert Yourself, Cope with Panic Attacks, Help someone who is Suicidal, Recognise the early signs of Mental Illness, Deal with Anger, Survive Family Life, Recover after a Breakdown, Cope with Sleep Problems, Deal with Bullying at Work etc.
A network of supported housing projects providing permanent accommodation for over sixty people with long term mental health problems.
An information service on all mental health issues and local resources.
A monthly Relatives’ Support Group where relatives and carers can discuss freely and in confidence the problems that arise from mental illness in the family.
Outreach Workers for men and women from black and minority ethnic communities.
Two Benefits Advice Workers for people all over Oxfordshire with mental illness.
A Rural Transport Service to enable people living with physical and mental health problems to attend our day centres.
In May 2008 Oxfordshire Mind launched a new pilot project to Improve Access to Psychological Therapies. We
currently have 16 staff employed to work in GP Surgeries across Oxfordshire.
Oxfordshire Mind also tries to be pro-active and provide other activities and groups for people who experiencing mental and emotional health problems. For instance our Cognitive Therapy Group Work Programme, Service User Training, production of The Mind Guide to Mental Health Services in Oxfordshire, running Christmas Day at The Mill and developing services for Young Adults and Students. We have also now developed several Evening and Weekend Services for working people and students to access.
As we are under-funded, we have to seek funding from other trusts and from fundraising to help cover the extra activities and groups we provide. We have found that raising funds for these types of groups/activities is particularly difficult as is obtaining funds for mental health work in general.
In 2010/11 Oxfordshire Mind needs funds to develop various areas of its work. Your donation / support will play an essential part in this as it will help us:
Develop our evening services for working people, parents and students - In order to support more people we need to develop and fund evening services.
Raise awareness about mental health issues.
Produce publicity materials. Many people are still not aware of the services we have to offer.
Develop our Groups Work Programme - The groups offer opportunities to learn coping skills and help people take more control of their lives. We are currently running groups on Coping with Anxiety, Challenging Depression, and Building Self-Esteem.
Train staff to run Cognitive Therapy Behavioural Workshops - We would like to expand our current therapeutic groups so they are accessible to more people; including working people and people who live in rural areas. To train our staff in this field costs Oxfordshire Mind £550.00 per person (this is a special rate agreed with the Trust). There is growing need for these courses and we would like to be able to train 3-4 staff on this course over the next year.
Access to a range of therapies and creative activities for people with mental health problems living on benefits - It is well known that a range of therapies and creative activities can help people with mental health problems improve the quality of their lives. Medication is one thing that can help, but access to Massage, Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Yoga, Head Massage, Chi Gong, Meditation, Dance, Music, Creative Arts etc. can greatly improve people’s mental well being. Sadly a lot of these are activities are not accessible to people who cannot afford them and it is unfortunate that these are often the people who need them the most. Oxfordshire Mind tries to run these types of activities through employing people with the necessary skills on a sessional basis. Each session usually costs between £20 - £50. These activities are extremely popular and have attracted new people who need our support who may not otherwise use our services. Previous groups have been run from the projects budgets (which are very limited) and it would be good to run a series of groups which could be advertised through the course of a year. £2000 would allow us to run 50-60 varied sessions for people with mental health problems within our projects.
Volunteer training – Training volunteers is costly, but many volunteers go on to work in mental health which is good or those who live in our community.
Fund our rural transport service - We have a network of fifteen day centres throughout the county. To run this service costs approximately £15,000 per annum (including fuel, servicing, repairs, insurance, volunteer expenses etc). We will have to replace one of our mini buses in 2012 at a cost of approx £40,000.
The Mind Guide to Mental Health Services in Oxfordshire - The Guide is often described as the mental health bible. It takes many hours of preparation and approximately £10,000 to print. It is distributed to all G.P.’s, mental health professionals and the general public.
Christmas Activities in our projects cost approx £2,000 - £4,000 per annum. Oxfordshire Mind recognises that Christmas can be a distressing time for some people, especially those who feel isolated and alone. Many of our projects run special events in the run-up to Christmas, and hold special ‘Post-Christmas Chill-out Days’ on 27 December. Activities include Festive Art Groups (making Christmas decorations and cards using recycled materials), Christmas lunches, Sweet-making, Christmas music and singing, Christmas bring and share buffets, coping with Christmas workshops, bowling trips , Christmas bazaar, raffle and tombolas, Theatre trips and a Christmas Quiz to name but a few!
Refurbishment of Mind projects – Some of our Community Resource Projects are in desperate need of re-decoration and refurbishment. We need funds to refurbish and redecorate the centres, undertake structural work to support the development of community kitchens, renew key electrical appliances in the kitchens (e.g. cookers, dishwashers and fridge/freezers), develop and equip community ICT hubs providing internet access and access to learning opportunities, purchase comfortable chairs for group work and training activities, new tables and chairs for the proposed community cafés, information and display racks and develop some new signage for the centres.
I hope this gives you an insight as to what the funds you have raised will help us with.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now. Many thanks! Nicky ;o) x
