It was 2015 after two suicide attempts that I was advised by a friend in work about Action Mental Health (AMH) and the Workable NI program. To be honest at the time, in my extremely low mood, I felt what’s the point and this is gonna be another one of these lifeless schemes that are more about ticking boxes than helping people. How wrong I was.
From the first session I had with the first of many keyworkers, I was made to feel valued, cared for and not judged for experiencing a severe dip in my mental health. I was listened to from the off and they tailored their help to me. They constantly reassessed their help with me, always seeming to provide as much as they could than they could…which was to prove invaluable. They communicated things, with my permission, with my manager who was able to get a full picture without the awkwardness of my repeating myself along with the vulnerability.
There were many dark moments during my journey when AMH gave me a safe space to be and encouraged me to keep going. Each Key Worker they provided, brought their own individual skills to help me on that stage of my recovery. From those who sat with me patiently in the silence to those who motivated me to self-care to those who laughed when I found the true me again.
In the short, sometimes in life a person or an organisation IS SENT to assist you on a difficult part of this journey and you don’t realise what they do for you at the time until the storm settles and you get a chance to reflect. And in this reflection I found true value in and gratitude for the organisation called Action Mental Health and the Workable NI Programme, its upbeat receptionists, its ever caring keyworkers and its management team who ensured I was given the space I needed to find me again.
Thank you. From the heart.
Gary Tate.
You can find out more about the Workable NI Programme by clicking here.
