Safe Space Movement Status Update!

We have come a very long way in such a short space of time in our mission to help people who need Mental Health support.

Thank you everyone who has donated and volunteered so far!

We have hit our 5K target to be able to register as a charity, and will continue to raise money to fund our service on official launch.

We are currently advertising and interviewing for potential Trustees to join those already appointed so that we can;

1. Set up the charity as a Company Ltd by Guarantee with Companies House.

2. Register with the Charity Commission to obtain our official charity number.

3. Open a bank account.

If you would like to apply to become a Trustee, please email us@safespacemovement.co.uk. We require an explanation on why you would like to be a Trustee, what you will bring to the Board and any experience you may have in a charity organisation. Please attach a CV.

We have to date;

4. Set up a Ltd Company to raise money through merchandise and events.

5. Successfully put 14 people through their Mental Health First Aid Training and have raised the funds to train many more of our volunteers.

6. Come so far in our understanding of the type of charity we want to be, our structure, vision, mission and goals.

7. Written our Year One Business and Service Delivery Plan.

8. Written our Governing Document.

We Are Also;

9. Currently choosing our CRM and phone system - which we are getting at a charity rate once we have our charity number.

10. Working closely with Community Action Network who are advising and assisting us every step of the way with the business and legal side of the charity.

11. Members of the Small Charities Coalition and NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations). These are national charitable organisations set up to help with the set up and running of a charity

12. Working with our team of advisors who we consult from a service delivery perspective. They are all specialists in their field from a policy writer, safe-guarding expert, certified mental health first aid trainer, psychologist, to housing and addiction specialists.

13. Creating the training courses required for the services we want to provide.

14. Working on the full website launch with a team of designers, coders and content writers.

It’s been 8 months of learning, and getting an incredible team together. Every day we gain more knowledge and get closer to fully launching our service, as a legal charity, with a charity number. Dedicated to giving mental health support to those in need.

We could not have come this far without your donations, and offers of support and help. We cannot thank you all enough.

If you would like to find out more. Please check out our website www.safespacemovement.co.uk

If you would like to donate. Please go to our Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/safespacemovement

The Safe Space Movement Team

We hit our 1st £5000. Thank you everyone!!

All donations received will go towards

Provision of certified Mental Health First Aid Training for all volunteers in client facing roles, advisors and management.

Installation of phone lines and equipment associated with the provision of this service.

Website/subscription costs.

General expenses.

Disclosure and Barring checks for all volunteers in client facing roles/handling sensitive information.

Our Vision

To see a world where everyone has a safe space to find common ground within our society, understand they are not alone and find that support is available every step of the way.

Our Mission

To eradicate the stigma associated with mental health and asking for help so that everyone can get the right support they need, when they need it. To extinguish feelings of loneliness and isolation from whomever is experiencing it.

Why I created The Safe Space Movement

On the 15th July 2020, my Mum phoned me distressed and crying. I knew something terrible had happened. My 24-year-old nephew “Calvin” was found dead, hanging in his home. Calvin was a handsome, intelligent, empathetic, strong young man. He had a fantastic job, nice car, always out having fun. Everyone looked up to Calvin. He was the brother and friend everyone would go to for advice on their life problems. He was the person always there to help.

The following day his family and friends organised a massive meet up to celebrate his life. He was into his cars and quad bikes and was a much-loved popular figure within the car and quad bike “meet up” community. The sheer amount of people who turned up to mourn and celebrate his life was overwhelming. In his short time living his life he had inspired, was loved and looked up to by so many people. Not a single person out of the 100’s and 100’s gathered could work out how such an amazing, strong young man could have taken his life. The pressures of bills, depression, life amidst Covid 19 had become too much for this beautiful young man, and he just didn’t reach out to anyone. The irony that so many people had turned up to show their respects, who loved and admired him. Everyone of them would have been there to help.

At the same time, I had found myself and my business that I had dedicated my life to for 30 years come under attack online by a hate group and website. Spreading lies and misinformation, it hurt seeing complete fabrications written about myself, my partner, and our organisation. As we started to investigate, we realised a number of people in our industry had come under attack by the same group. Some of them had found themselves in a vulnerable place, depressed, and suicidal. We had to help.

Cyber bullies can literally get away with murder. Hiding behind IP addresses, and fake accounts, almost impossible to track down. Waiting in the wings to attack and hurt people. Eventually the cyber bullies slipped up. We had built up evidence of 100’s and 100’s of pages of bullying, lies and hate to present to the police, and the culprits’ bosses at work. We helped several people to grow in confidence and stand up to the cyber bullies who had been playing with their mental health for far too long.

No matter how hard things are, someone is always there to listen. Just reach out.

Daniel Light (Billy Daniel Bunter)