News / Bristol Giving Day

‘I’m honestly not sure I would be here now if it wasn’t for Changes Bristol’

By Ellie Pipe  Friday Oct 4, 2019

A peer-led mental health charity, based in Barton Hill, has been working to support adults and raise awareness across Bristol for 14 years.

Changes Bristol runs support groups, wellbeing workshops and encourages the use of lived experience to break down barriers. It is one of 45 local causes being given a boost through Bristol Giving Day on Wednesday, October 9.

“I started attending Changes Bristol groups after my son turned three,” says one person who attends Changes sessions and prefers not to be named.

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“I had few friends and felt anxious and isolated. I joined Changes and decided to give it four weeks. I returned home each Tuesday for three weeks and cried. It was so different to what I was used to – I was so shy and it was difficult to share.

“My husband told me to stop putting myself through the agony but I stuck to my four week plan. On the fourth week I came home smiling!

“It has now been almost four years since I joined Changes Bristol and I’ve rarely missed a week. Life has had some serious ups and downs in that time but attending the group has been something that has kept me strong.

“I’ve got a group of friends I met through Changes and these friendships are like nothing I’ve experienced before. We talk openly together, we meet up regularly despite how we might be feeling, we bring laughter, tears, anger – whatever we feel is OK. We accept one another and I feel fully accepted by these friends.

“I’m honestly not sure I would be here now if it wasn’t for Changes Bristol.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAOuSrkKnBM

Bristol Giving Day is organised by the Quartet Community Foundation and is being supported by Bristol24/7.

People can show their support by undertaking the Bridges Challenge and donating £1 for each of the city’s 45 bridges crossed. The target is to raise £45,000 for the 45 organisations and charities.

Find out more about Changes Bristol by heading to the South Entrance Lock Walkway on the Cumberland Basin Route on Bristol Giving Day.

Read more: Acta – where everyone’s stories matter

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