As part of NCS, our team has decided to partner with Recovery Assistance Dogs, which is a charity that raises and trains dogs to give to those who suffer from severe mental illnesses. These people are often neglected from society, due to the stigmas around their illness, and sometimes a companion such as a dog can be the difference between life and death for them. These dogs offer a sense of unconditional loyalty and companionship, and are trained to effectively respond to panic attacks, crying, etc. All of the money raised will go towards either buying suitable dogs, or training dogs so that they can be given to those who are in need.

Elizabeth Maitland (the director of the charity) formerly suffered from a mental illness, and found that there was an apparent stigma around mental health, which meant she was often neglected from the rest of society. This, in turn, could‘ve worsened her illness but she turned to God, which motivated her to create a charity that defeated these stigmas, and worked to help the mentally ill to integrate back in to society. Whilst doing this, she found that dogs were displaying uncondtional companionship towards her, something which she didn‘t find amongst people. She decided to incorporate this in to her charity, and now she helps 30-50 people each month, by providing them with a companion which not only drives them out in to society (for dog walks etc) but also offers sense of loyalty which is reciprocated between the owner and dog. The power of this loyalty has helped people such as Elizabeth to refrain from suicide and other forms of self harm.

Please try and support this cause as it promotes both the wellbeing of dogs and the wellbeing of a persons mental health.