A new minibus service from Carlisle will give access to a groundbreaking mental health support project just opened at Tebay Services on the M6.
Mental health charity Growing Well marked the official opening of its new kitchen garden at the services in Mental Health Awareness Week.
More than 100 guests joined staff of Growing Well and Westmorland Family to see Cumbria High Sheriff Sam Scott cut the ribbon on one of the polytunnels.
The new community mental health support service for Eden and North Cumbria will provide supported volunteering opportunities to help 100 people a year recover from mental health difficulties, with free minibus transport provided from Carlisle, Penrith, Appleby and rural Eden.
The Carlisle minibus runs to and from the project every Tuesday, taking around 40 minutes. People struggling with mental health challenges can refer themselves or be referred by a GP or other health professional, and could be receiving the charity’s free support within 2 weeks.
Howard Bell, from Brough, is one of the first volunteers at the kitchen garden and has been going to Growing Well at Tebay Services every week for 3 months. He said: “In a former life I was a zoologist and scientist and like many other people here I have suffered from mental health issues, and I’ve gone through the usual trajectory of going through the GP, and getting lots of little pills that really didn’t do a lot for me, so I came here to do something practical and worthwhile and fulfilling."
“Those other things don’t change anything structurally, whether it’s talking or taking a little pill, it messes with your brain chemistry but it doesn’t change your life, your life’s still there.
“At Growing Well it’s giving you something with purpose, something to do. It’s a very, very pleasant and refreshing alternative approach to mental health because Growing Well is and will in the future save lives.”
High Sheriff Sam Scott told guests gathered at the event during Mental Health Awareness Week, that the partnership between the charity and Westmorland Family was an “inspiring example” of a business and charity working together to address a real community need.
Westmorland Family chair Sarah Dunning welcomed everyone to the new site, saying: “We’re proud to be working with Growing Well - a local charity punching well above its weight and doing pioneering and important work.
Growing Well Chair of Trustees Jim Sharp thanked the Dunning family for their generous support, the National Lottery Community Fund, and the staff from both teams who had delivered the project on time and on budget, and which was already making a difference to people’s lives.
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