“If I’m having a difficult day, being around the people, and the structure of the day is just super-helpful, I always feel better at the end of the day when I go home.”
Growing Well Volunteer Sharon Rodhouse, from Clifton, near Penrith, was one of the first Volunteers to seek support from Growing Well at Tebay Services since it opened in January 2023. During Mental Health Awareness week she shared her story with Megan Paterson of BBC North and Kate Walby of ITV Border.
“My husband Mark died by suicide last year and it shattered my world. I used to start to just find things that would help me through a really dark period, and this just happened to be coming up at the time and I thought, well give it ago. The pain of losing Mark was so jagged and incomprehensible. It’s all day by day but I still wake every morning and think – I have to get through another day, and how am I going to do that? And knowing that Growing Well is here for me once a week is really helpful. The people are so lovely, they are so supportive and it feels like such safe, supportive environment for that reason.
I get a huge amount from coming here. If I’m having a difficult day, being around the people, and the structure of the day is just super-helpful, I always feel better at the end of the day when I go home.”
To view the whole BBC Look North report click here
To view the whole ITV Border report click here