By Dorinda Wolfe Murray | CEO
The years of the Covid lockdown have left an imprint on our society that may never be erased. We saw more kindness and more suffering than most of us would expect to experience. And 'normal' was no longer a known quantity. The cost to the Emergency Services during that time was, and still is immense.
Increasing numbers from the paramedic, police, and fire brigade services are seeking our help; often they just want to be able to de-stress somewhere outside work. They need to be able to find a safe welcoming space within a community (such as our cafe hubs) where they can meet, and chat. The hourly decisions of life and death that they make would test all of us to the limits, emotionally, mentally and physically. And the trauma from those daily decisions does not go away; it is what we do with it and how we handle it that matters.
Our cafe hubs which act as a central point to our case work and our national outreach work, are seeing more and more informal groups from the Emergency Services meeting up to de-stress; to chat, to take some time out and feel 'normal'. This in turn enables them to confidentially ask and receive assistance of a very tangible kind - whether it is counselling, advice and support around debt, or fear about how they can successfully transition into a more 'normal' life.
When we were constituted as a charity, a number of individuals within the Emergency Services approached us and asked for their organisations to be included within our remit. That was in 2012 - the requirement for support has not gone away; we need more centres around the UK where they can seek help and support.
Please help us show them the kindness, gratitude and heartfelt thanks that they so richly deserve. So often it is that cup of tea and time out that makes the difference in being able to carry on in incredibly difficult and challenging circumstances.
£5 will give tea and cake to one person that may just give them enough of a breathing space to be able to carry on and seek the help they so desperately need. What a fabulous way in which to show our gratitude.
Than you for all the support you enable us to deliver through your amazing donations.
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