Newly-married couples generous donation to The Sanctuary over Christmas
A newly-married couple have celebrated their big day by donating money, raised at their wedding, towards a roadside advert for Self Help.
Situated in various locations throughout Manchester over the festive period, the roadside adverts will feature Self Help’s mental health crisis service, The Sanctuary, which provides support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to residents in Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Tameside and Glossop.
The Sanctuary is a 24-hour service offering a telephone crisis line during the day, from 6am – 8pm, alongside an existing night time service, from 8pm – 6am, when clients can also attend in person. The overnight service assists people who are dealing with emotional crisis, out-of hours, experiencing: anxiety, panic attacks, depression or suicidal thoughts.
The generous newly weds who purchased the advert are Victoria Thomas-Parker, a Mental Health Nurse, and Colette Thomas-Parker, a Police Officer for Greater Manchester Police.
Colette commented:
“To celebrate our marriage we wanted to give something back. As a Mental Health Nurse in Lancashire and a Police Officer in Manchester we are all too familiar with the cuts in crisis care. The support Self Help offers has been invaluable in our working lives. This is our way of helping to get the message out there that there is hope and people do care.”
In response to the donation, Nicky Lidbetter, Chief Officer for Self Help, said:
“We can’t thank Colette and Victoria enough for their kindness and for their continued support of our Sanctuary, crisis service. Christmas can be challenging for many of us but it can be an even harder for those with mental health difficulties. This advert will help raise awareness of The Sanctuary and let people know that we are here for them 24 hours a day throughout the festive period and every day of the year, should they need us.”
Local residents, or those registered with a GP in the area, can access the service by calling The Sanctuary on 0300 003 7029.
Since its opening in 2013, The Sanctuary has given support to more than 1,700 people. A report by the University of Manchester revealed that seven per cent of people who had used The Sanctuary would have self-harmed or attempted suicide if they had not had access to it.
In addition, the report found that 43% of people would have gone to A&E, called an ambulance or the Police had it not been for The Sanctuary.