From Little Star to Mental Health ...
Young Friends’ Appeal Update
The
Young Friends’ Appeal last year was in support of Chris Hunter’s 'Little Star'
Project, training and enabling counsellors and psychologists to use drama and
play therapy to work with traumatised children in Chechnya and Ingushetia. The
YFGM Appeal culminated in a performance by the Leaveners in May 2002. The generosity
of meetings all over the country enabled us to raise approximately £20,000 for
the work of Little Star. This has helped Little Star psychologists enormously
in developing their work, helping children devastated by the effects of war
to regain their childhood. Thanks to all the meetings and individual friends
who have given tremendous support, both practical & financial, to the YFGM
Little Star Appeal. We hope that you will continue to extend your generosity
YFGM's new Appeal.
We are currently raising money, but perhaps more importantly, encouraging people to think about, issues around Mental Health. Since I brought my personal concerns in this area to Young Friends in 2001, the response has been overwhelming. I have felt encouraged and supported by the way in which YFGM has wholeheartedly taken on this concern.
We have held a National Gathering to explore our responses more deeply. This gave us the chance to look at the way we sometimes feel unable to share our emotional and mental distress with the communities which (in theory) should be the most able to hear us, and be with us. Whether we know friends or members of the family who are suffering, or are suffering ourselves, we all need the support of our spiritual communities.
I am delighted that we are now working more widely within BYM through the new Young Friends’ Appeal. We are currently supporting The Association for Pastoral Care in Mental Health (APCMH), an organisation which works at a national level to provide resources and support for local groups and drop-in centres. This means the support provided is appropriate to the needs of the local area. It is inspiring to be working with an ecumenical organisation whose aim, to help faith communities ‘be alongside’ those with mental distress, seems so in line with our own.
John Vallat who has been involved with APCMH for many years spoke to our last General Meeting about what it means to him to have a religious faith as well as experience of being a mental health service user. He made it clear that a person’s religious beliefs are integral to who that person is and cannot and should not just be ditched because the medical profession might think they are unhelpful.
He also reminded us that most sufferers are well most of the time. This makes it very difficult to gauge the true number of people affected by some kind of mental illness, which according to statistics is about 1 in 4. It also makes it vital that we begin talking about how common mental illness is, to lessen the fear and prejudice surrounding it. We need to create safe spaces where people can be listened to; to acknowledge each of our very different journeys and each of our unique contributions.
In addition to raising money to support our aims and those of APCMH; the Appeal Group are planning to hold an Arts Festival to value some of those journeys and the creative contributions we all have to offer whether we think of ourselves as artistic or not. We will be inviting people to supply us with pictures, poetry etc to feature on a website and in a book.
We hope that meetings everywhere in Britain will help us by holding collections, having discussion groups, contacting APCMH directly, and looking out for us at Yearly Meeting.
If you would like more information on any of the above, or would like to know of someone in your area who might be able to speak to your meeting please contact us through the Young Friends General Meeting Office at Woodbrooke, 1046 Bristol Rd, Selly Oak, Birmingham B29 6LJ tel: 0121 472 1998
or visit our website: http://yfgm.quaker.org.uk/appeal/
Anne
Pommier
18 April 2003
The Friend