mentors for the Sunderland Mind Fabric group and I just thought – oh I can help with that. And, like many others, I was aware of the charity Mind. I had donated some spare wool to the Wellbeing Hub before and thought it seemed like a lovely place though I didn’t know that much about it. I didn’t realise that Sunderland Mind was an independent charity with an affiliation to the national charity. Being retired, I had some free time . So I sent a message, met with one of the staff and a few weeks later joined the busy group. At first, I mentored a very sweet service user who is an avid knitter but just needed someone to keep her on the right track and teach her a couple of new techniques. The more I got to know the group, I started to help other clients who wanted to knit. During this process, I learned more about the work of the Wellbeing Hub, how it is run very professionally by dedicated staff and was really impressed by the care and support shown to its service users as well as the volunteers. 

 

Vic: How has volunteering impacted you? 

 

Bev: Well, I had no previous experience with a mental health charity before and really didn’t know what to expect. The Fabric group are a very diverse group of people with a whole range of abilities and I need to think on my feet sometimes and try to find different ways of doing or explaining things to help the client better. After all, everyone has their own way of learning. For example, a couple of clients found that they could knit better using a cable needle instead of the traditional two knitting needles. I felt really proud when one of them completed her first project – a woolly hat knitted in the round! Sometimes it might be a matter of just setting out the instructions in a different way. I do get a real buzz when someone completes something they might have thought they couldn’t do before. I am in awe of the resilience and application our service users constantly demonstrate. Also, my understanding of mental health has changed too…poor mental health can affect any of us, at any time. 

 

Since I retired, I have been teaching myself to sew. I’m no expert but recently Sunderland Mind gave me the opportunity to help support a family fabric class. It has been so rewarding to see families come together and get creative with fabric and I hope this class goes from strength to strength. My confidence and willingness to have a go has definitely improved.

Bev: Volunteering is a great way of getting out of your bubble…if you have a skill to share, that’s great, but so much of what we do is about having a friendly chat or a listening ear and providing a caring and supportive environment for our service users. It’s a little bit of time each week for good company and creativity…what’s not to like? We could do with another volunteer who can do a bit of crafting mind…..