On the 23rd April 2020, I will be setting off on a four day mission to circumnavigate the coast of the four main Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Sark & Alderney) on foot. That's a combined total of 110 miles. Persuaded by the promise of beautiful scenery, guaranteed sunshine(!) and the prospect of seeing pretty much all of the Channel Islands in one go, I will be joined by my good friend Helen as we attempt to raise funds to support the life changing work carried out by Silkworth Lodge and Mind Jersey.

You can learn more about these two charities and what they personally mean to me and my family by reading my story below...

Our Story

In January of last year, things were feeling pretty desperate. Almost a lifetime of hiding an alcohol addiction and poor mental health were taking its toll on my Mum and she was fast approaching rock bottom. After what felt like a never ending series of brick walls from GPs and mental health services and hours spent googling treatment options and private therapists, I was feeling helpless and running out of options.

Working in the research and evaluation team at Mind's national offices in London, I was already very familiar with the great work being carried out by local Minds across the country to support people experiencing mental health problems, but I'd yet to be on the receiving end of that support. One day, in my lunch hour, after a particularly frustrating call with a service that my Mum had been discharged (prematurely) from in November, I made the decision to contact Mind Jersey's Carer and Family Services. I didn't really know what to expect, but I was hoping that they might be able to advise on how I could get my Mum the formal support she clearly needed or suggest some local services that she could access in the meantime. What I actually got from that phone call was much more than that. Out of all the professionals I had spoken to over the previous weeks, months (and probably years) about my Mum, it's not an understatement to say that Stephen was probably the first person who made me feel truly heard. I told him all that had been going on over the last few months - the drinking, the meltdowns, the messages and late night phone calls, the lying and the guilt I felt for not being physically there to help and he listened without judgement, and to my surprise made a personal commitment to help. I was so grateful for his kindness that I hung up the phone and burst into tears.

At that point my Mum was extremely low and anxious and in denial about her drinking, so although she desperately wanted help she was struggling to make the first move to engage in services. With her consent, Stephen visited her at home to talk about the support on offer and over the following couple of weeks supported her to attend AA meetings and checked in on her regularly. Unfortunately, despite Stephen's support and attendance at regular meetings, my Mum wasn't able to take control of her drinking and her mental health continued to decline until a few weeks after my first contact with Stephen she sent me a text message which concerned me enough to call her place of work and ask her colleagues to urgently check on her as I couldn't get through. They found her in a state of extreme distress and, knowing that she had been receiving support from Stephen, telephoned him for advice. He advised taking her to A&E, which set off the chain of events that would change her life...

In A&E, the full extent of my Mum's drinking came to light (at her lowest point she was drinking around six bottles of wine a day whilst still working full time) and she was admitted on a voluntary basis to Orchard House, Jersey's acute mental health inpatient service. Living 'on the mainland'' (as we island folk put it) it was difficult for me to find out what was going on, but Stephen kept me updated by phone and text and made sure I was ok. Truthfully, it was a huge relief to know that my Mum was finally somewhere safe and hopefully on the path to getting the help she needed.

My Mum was in Orchard House for just over three weeks in total whilst she detoxed and stabilised. During that time Stephen continued to keep in touch and visit her. Prior to being admitted, Stephen had spoken with her about residential rehabilitation for her addiction at Silkworth Lodge, but she had been reluctant because of the practicalities of being away from home (and work) for an extended period. However, faced with the reality of her situation in Orchard House, and the events that had lead up to it, and with the support of Stephen, myself and my Dad, she felt ready to commit to her recovery and at the beginning of February started a 12 week programme at Silkworth Lodge.

I visited my Mum for the first time in Silkworth in early March, after she had been there for around a month, and the transformation in her, both physically and mentally, was already incredible. I spoke to her on the phone almost every day that she was in Silkworth and little by little saw her grow from an anxious person consumed by guilt and denial into someone with self-awareness, dignity and confidence. In May I attended her 'graduation' from Silkworth and had the privilege of hearing all the wonderful things her peers and counsellors had to say about her and her dedication and commitment to her recovery. She has now been sober for over a year and is a valued and much loved and respected member of the AA community in Jersey. Our relationship over that time has gone from strength to strength as I've got to know her sober and she has been there for me in ways that she never would have been able to before.

I'm so proud of her for all the hard work that my Mum has and continues to put into her recovery, but I'm also incredibly grateful for Stephen and Mind Jersey and to Silkworth Lodge for giving her the tools and support she needed to get her there. When I received the text message from my Mum that led to me contacting her colleagues back in January, I responded in desperation that 'I just want my Mum back'. Thanks to the work of these two wonderful charities, I now have her, and so it feels like it's now time for me to give something back myself...

The Walk

Not being one to shy away from a challenge, I have decided to do this by walking around the four main Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Sark & Alderney) in (hopefully) four days. I'm no stranger to walking, having previously completed the Jersey Island Walk (and swearing at the time I'd never do it again) and a couple of marathon distance walks, but I can very clearly remember the pain I felt the day after these events and so I think walking for four consecutive days brings with it a new challenge and probably a whole new world of pain.

My friend Helen, who has unwittingly been roped into joining me on this adventure, is also no stranger to walking, but she is a stranger to the Channel Islands so I'm looking forward to playing tour guide and showing her what our beautiful Islands have to offer.

Our itinerary at present looks something like this:

Day One: Fly London -> Guernsey (PM)

Day Two: Walk Guernsey (38.8 miles)

Day Three: Fly Guernsey -> Alderney - Walk Alderney (approx. 10 miles) - Fly Alderney -> Guernsey

Day Four: Ferry Guernsey -> Sark - Walk Sark (approx. 10 miles) - Ferry Sark -> Jersey

Day Five: Walk Jersey (48 miles)

Day Six: Rest (or contingency day for Jersey walk) - Fly Jersey -> London (PM)

Our Aim

As well as raising awareness of the work carried out by these two great charities, we think our efforts are worthy are sponsorship and our aim is to raise in excess of £2,000 which will be split equally between Mind Jersey and Silkworth Charity Group. JustGiving does not have a function to split funds equally between two charities, hence why this page has been set up as a crowdfunder, but all of the funds received (minus JustGiving's processing fees) will be donated directly to the two charities. We would also be grateful for additional corporate sponsorship in the form of accommodation in Guernsey or Jersey, or supplies/offers of sustenance for our trip, as all costs will be coming out of our own pockets and every little helps.

We'll be keeping this, and our social media pages (Facebook and Instagram) up to date with our progress and I'll be attempting to take my first tentative steps into the world of video blogging so please spread the word and keep checking in for updates. We'd also be grateful for moral support from anyone who would like to join us for any part of the journey - in all our years of friendship Helen and I have not managed to run out of conversation yet, but after four days together we may well have resorted to passing the hours with 'eye spy', so anyone bringing words of encouragement or motivational conversation would be particularly welcome.

If you can help or support in any way then please feel free to get in touch at ashleytaustin@gmail.com

A Big 'Thank You'

If you've made it this far then you probably deserve sponsorship yourself. So all that's left to say is thank you very much for your support - it really is appreciated and we hope we can do Mind Jersey & Silkworth Lodge proud.

Ashley & Helen x