It has
been a long time since I last sat down with the intention in mind to write a
blog post and as a result I am writing this feeling mildly guilty and rather
embarrassed. After-all, when I first started out in November I was hoping to
post an update every week!
Despite
this, I am still running a marathon in April (April 12th to be
exact), and I have still been following (with not a small amount of deviation) a 20
week training plan to (hopefully) prepare my body for running 26.9 miles.
And all
of this so that I might possibly raise some money for the amazing and
incredible charity that is the Trauma Recovery Centre.
I am
aware that it is quite some time since my first blog post describing the TRC
and as such I feel it might be useful if I used this post to go through what it
is about TRC that made me want to support them so I’ve described the four key
reasons here.
1. The service these guys offer is FREE. Meaning that in order
to keep the centre running they rely completely on money given through the
generosity of strangers (a.k.a you).
2. Because the service is free the people being reached are the
ones that, to some extent, need it the most. Socioeconomic status (SES) is well
evidenced as being one of the major influences on the impacts of mental health
(this can be seen by the many academic papers that are found following a simple
search of “socioeconomic status mental health” in google scholar). Not
necessarily because low SES causes mental illness, but because those in low SES
settings cannot afford treatment. It is not lack of treatment that is causing
issues with mental health in the UK, it is lack of affordable treatment. And
for many, affordable means free.
3. The services the TRC provide is good. TRC therapists have trauma
specific, reputable and respected qualifications. Therapy with the TRC is
person focused, it continues for as long as the individual needs it for. Unlike
the NHS which can only supply a number of weeks of counselling then leaves
people on their own, simply due to the sheer mass of people it is trying to
accommodate. The TRC also have graduate activity groups. These are group
sessions once a week for previous clients to come along and relax in an
environment they feel comfortable and supported in. There comes a time in
therapy where the individual no longer needs to be receiving weekly sessions in
order to heal fully, and in fact for them to continue to rely and depend on
weekly counselling sessions would be unhealthy. But in the same way that when
clients are released from hospital they still need support and the comfort of
readily available medical advice before they’re completely healed again,
individuals recovering from mental illness need support too. Activity groups
provide this.
4. And finally, the TRC is running at a maximum and there is a
long waiting list. There is a shocking lack of care for mental health in the
UK, a problem which if ignored will simply get worse. The only way to help this
is if centres have the facilities to take in more people, and this again needs
money.
There are many many more reasons that I could give for
wanting to give my time and support to the TRC but these are the ones I felt
were most important. I hope that you would agree with me that the work done by
this organisation is really worth putting money into. The work they do targets
an area in our society that is scandalously uncared for. Something which needs
to change and will only change if we as a people start changing it ourselves.
If you’d like to sponsor me then here’s the link to my
mydonate page, the page is linked to the TRC so as soon as you pay money online
it goes straight to TRC.
And here’s the link to the TRC website for anyone
interested.
