‘I have a better ability to be my real self’: £167k boost to charity helping people with mental health

Hundreds of people suffering from mental health challenges will receive extra support after new funding for a community project.

Sydenham Gardens’ Growing Lives project offers weekly social, therapeutic and vocational horticultural sessions for people in Lewisham and Bromley.

The project has been awarded a £167,000 grant over three years from City Bridge Trust, the City of London Corporation’s charity funder, along with the chance to achieve a recognised horticultural accreditation.

Laura, from Lewisham, who has not been named for confidentiality reasons, spent a year attending the weekly therapeutic horticultural sessions at Growing Lives.

She said: “I was a bit apprehensive when I first joined the project, but I quickly realised on my first day that Growing Lives is a safe space.

“The site is accessible and you can adept it to what you want to do and feel capable of doing that day.

“Most importantly, there isn’t a hierarchy. There is the safety of staff and support volunteers, but it feels like we’re all one at the same time.

“I’ve learned to be much more relaxed and confident in myself.

“I’ve become much more able to say what I can do, and what I would like to do. And I’m also much more able to say what I can’t do too!

“I have a better ability to be my real self. I’ve had the chance to do things that I’ve never done before like, or necessarily expected to do, such as building things and looking after chickens.

“It’s rare that you are told you are doing something well when living with mental health issues so this was a great change.”

Sydenham Garden in Wynell Road, Lewisham, was founded in 2002 by a small group of residents and later grew into a charity.

Sydenham Garden Growing Lives co-ordinator, David Lloyd, said: “This project believes in the transformative power of nature, using our one-and-a-half-acre site in Lewisham as a place where people with mental health issues can reconnect with nature and the community.

“Our therapeutic project is designed to improve people’s mental and physical health, and overall wellbeing, and help them learn new horticultural and transferable skills, which not only boosts their employability but also their confidence and self-esteem”.

More information about Sydenham Garden and the Growing Lives project is available at www.sydenhamgarden.org.uk

Pictured top: A beekeeper at Sydenham Gardens (Picture: Sydenham Gardens)