WALKING FOR WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY
Your Place staff member Maria, takes on a fundraising challenge to raise awareness and funds for our mental health work.
Saturday 10 October was a big day for us at Your Place, marking both World Homeless Day and World Mental Health Day. Whilst some of our team and volunteers were chatting to shoppers at Westfield Stratford City, two staff members took part in a sponsored walk from Stratford to Oxford Circus to raise money for Your Place.
The walk was led by Maria, who decided to raise funds after seeing many people experience mental health difficulties during lockdown. “Coronavirus has been a time of fear and distress for all of us,” she said. “I knew that the lockdown must have been particularly challenging for the residents at Your Place, so I really wanted to do something to help.”
Maria was joined on the walk by her sons and staff member Marika. Having the support of others helped her to make it to the end. “When we got to Bank, I was really tired and wanted to give up,” she said, “but they encouraged me to keep going.” Strong support from her team meant that Maria was able to complete the walk in under 3 hours, and have some fun along the way, too!
By asking people to sponsor her, Maria has been able to raise over £650 for Your Place. The funds will be used to ensure that we can keep providing support to our residents during this challenging time, particularly those experiencing mental health difficulties. This means that we’ll be able to help more people like Russell* who need our support in Newham.
“I’d like to say a really big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me,” Maria said. “I hope that mental health will continue to be a priority for all us, especially in the community at Your Place.”
If you would like to donate to Your Place or arrange your own sponsored event to help people experiencing homelessness, please contact us via email. We’d love to hear from you!
