Shelley who suffers from depression and other complex mental health issues was referred to Home-Start for one-to-one volunteer support to help her and her young son overcome their isolation.
“Home Start Wessex are a fantastic organisation that needs more funding to expand. If it wasn’t for my volunteer Zoe (who was a perfect match for me and my family), I would never have done the things we did. At first, I was very anxious about meeting new people and allowing them into my home, but I am glad I did. I was also worried about how Logan was going to be with a new face around. But I need not have worried he took to Zoe like glue, he saw the goodness in her heart that they were not a threat but almost like family. Me and Zoe formed a great relationship and every week it was like a friend coming over, I looked forward to it. I was able to get loads of concerns off my chest and was able to relax knowing I wasn’t being judged and I was being a normal mother worrying about normal things.
I didn’t have the best upbringing and was abused by a family member and that obviously affected me very badly. I have battled an eating disorder that I nearly died from and have attempted suicide on many occasions. With such a fractured childhood I went on to continue my self-destruction with a string of terrible and violent relationship both mentally and physically. Until I met Sam my husband and he pulled me through the darkness and helped me to heal from my eating disorder, but I was left with mental scars that I am still dealing with today.
When my son came along, I realised that it wasn’t just me anymore I have to get better for him and break the cycle and that’s why I allowed Home-Start to help me. I suffer with depression, personality disorder, PTSD and psychosis among other things. I have never had any support from my mum and sadly my dad passed away in 2013 and I was really close with him. So, Zoe was a god send to me.
She helped me to stop worrying and to live life in the moment, stop thinking about what could happen to what will happen in a situation. Our first outing was going to Farmer Palmers which I really didn’t want to do as I suffer with emetaphobia (fear of vomiting) and was concerned that Logan would get sick from the other children or adults. So, for the first part of the trip Zoe, Logan and I spent it apart from the group. And then after lunch I started to relax and allowed Logan to go and play in the park and he loved it. We fed the goats and handled some of the smaller animals. We had a great time and didn’t want the trip to end.
Zoe helped me to attend play groups and allow Logan to interact with other children, which I would never been able to do myself. I have continued taking Logan to play parks, zoos and a trampolining park and have booked a small holiday and I hope to take him to different events.
I still have bad days and struggle with taking Logan out, but I now know that its ok and we all suffer sometimes. I will get stronger for Logan and continue my mental health treatment to get well for a better family life because that’s all that matters to me.”