Newsletter No.3
The
Queen's Golden |
Welcome to issue number 3 (December 2001) of "The Separatist", Wokingham & West Berkshire Mind's newsletter.
Over the last month or so, our popular holiday caravan has been attracting quite a lot of interest with many of our readers. Many of you wanted to know more about the ideas behind the holiday caravan project and how the idea became a reality. In this issue we hope to answer some of your questions by featuring an article by the founder & project manager of the Wokingham Mind holiday caravan, our Chairman, Philip Green.
Back in the mid 1990's - I think it was 1995, I was in casual conversation with some of our regular users, (some of whom I knew very well) and the topic for some reason turned to holidays. It came out in this conversation that many of us had not actually been able to take advantage of a holiday for years - in one case it was eighteen years.
I remember thinking at the time that if the few people in the room on that day had not been able to take holidays, then how many of not only our whole membership - but all those disadvantaged by mental health problems in the local community - had also missed out. Why were so many people missing out on something that so many of us now take for granted? It was then that I decided to look into it. Two main reasons seemed to emerge. First but not always foremost, were the financial reasons. Many people who have suffered mental health problems had not been able to work for long periods of time and had to rely upon benefits that would only cover the bare minimum for a daily existence. The second most common reason was that booking a holiday through the normal route was a very inflexible option. I discovered that several people who had in the past booked a holiday through these normal channels, and who then unfortunately became ill, were not permitted to reschedule their holiday and were forced to cancel, often losing not only money, but self confidence along with it. This experience often put people off trying again, leading them to think that holidays for themselves were a thing of the past.
Further research at the time showed that there were no resources in the area that could provide holidays or respite care for the mentally ill, their families and/or carers - there was a gap in the services available to the community and it needed filling urgently. What would be the best way to fill this totally unacceptable void? I made further enquiries among those who could most benefit from a solution to this problem. It soon became clear that the most popular and accessible type of holiday was the "British seaside holiday", but these were now a very expensive option. So it was from all this that the idea of the holiday caravan was born - its aim, to provide affordable, accessible holidays to those who suffered from mental health problems, their carers and their families.
Firstly we needed to find a caravan site with amenities to suit all ages and preferences and which was in easy travelling distance of Wokingham, not just by car, but by rail and coach also. This proved to be harder than anticipated, as early on in my search, prejudice reared its ugly head. Many sites were very keen on selling a caravan to us until they found out we were a mental health charity. When trying to contact the person I had been dealing with at these various sites, the excuses started to flow - "sorry the person you are dealing with is on holiday", "ill", "unavailable" etc, and phone calls or messages would not be returned. On other occasions I was told in no uncertain terms that "we can't have a bunch of nutters here" and "this is a family park, we have children on the site". Although saddened and shocked by the ignorance and attitudes of these people, I carried on searching and finally found what we were looking for. The West Sands Caravan Park in Selsey West Sussex was the ideal place, only 60 miles from Wokingham and offering a variety of leisure facilities that catered for all tastes. The staff were pleasant and helpful, and they could also supply the desired 35' by 12' eight berth caravan at a favourable price.
The next hurdle to overcome was the financial one. The most obvious source of potential funding was the National Lottery Charities Board, no time was wasted and an application was submitted. Unfortunately this was not a successful one, but undeterred we applied again and this time we were successful. In December 1996 we were awarded a grant of £23,456. This was to cover the purchase of the caravan and to fund three years running costs.
The caravan was ordered to our specification in January 1997 and by March it had been built, delivered to the site, and connected to mains services. Two weeks later saw the arrival of its first guests.
Since then the caravan has proved to be very popular and has given five years uninterrupted service, providing over 150 holidays to over 250 different people. I would like to think that we would be able to continue to provide the service for many years to come, eventually replacing the caravan with a new model. Caravan funding is dealt with separately, and does not use money from our general finances, so securing the necessary funding is always an issue that is never far out of my thoughts. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who have supported the caravan over the last 5 years. I would especially like to thank Wokingham Town Council who have supplied a grant towards the running costs since the National Lottery funding expired, and Mind Volunteer David Hounsell who recently ran a full marathon to raise money for the caravan.
Don't forget you can find more information about the caravan under its own section on the website. If you would like information on booking the caravan please email philipgreen@wokinghammentalhealth.org.uk Donations are always welcome and should be marked Holiday Caravan and sent to our address on the contact us page.
If you have any experiences or views that you wish to share - feel free to post them to the address on the Contact page or e-mail them to mailbox@wokinghammentalhealth.org.uk and we will try to include them in a future issue of "The Separatist".
Obituary
Wokingham Mind's First President
Mary Reinach (nee Bennett) was born in Wokingham in 1913. Her Father was a successful local businessman and a leading light in the Baptist Church. The Bennett family were pillars of the Wokingham community - her grandfather, Moses, having served as the town mayor. Mary's mother died when she was only seven, and Mary, an only child, was educated firstly at a local private school and then at Ranelagh School in Bracknell. At the age of eighteen she went from Ranelagh to the London School of Economics where from 1931 to 1934 she studied social science. She was taught social administration by Herbert Morrison, then leader of the London County Council. After graduation she worked as a secretary.
In 1942 she married a German Jewish refugee. They had two children, a son, John, was born in 1944 and a daughter, Elizabeth, in 1946. After the welfare state was established in 1948, Mary worked as a medical social worker in the newly founded National Health Service. She spent much of her working life in the Black Country where her husband taught German at a college of further education in Walsall. Life-long friends were made in this part of the world.
After her husband died in 1985, Mary returned to live in Wokingham. She joined Mind and helped at our newly established drop-in centre at the British Red Cross in Denmark Street in June 1989. In 1990 she was elected first president. Mary was active with a number of local charities including the NSPCC, but always continued her support for Mind, and was noted in particular for the wonderful outings that she organised. These included trips to vineyards, river trips and some wonderful lunches. Her health began to fail early in 2001 and she became more frail after a hip operation in May of this year - surviving for only another six months. Mary will be greatly missed by all her many friends at Mind. She is survived by her son and daughter.
Tuesday 11th December 2001 - Wokingham Mind Christmas lunch (for members) assemble at Mind 11.30am. Cost £10 per person - includes wine.
Friday 21st December 2001 - Wokingham Mind Christmas Party 10am to 10pm at Station House.
In addition to our normal closing we will be closed on Tuesday 25th December, Wednesday 26th December and Tuesday 1st January
Read Back issues of the Separatist
If you have any contributions of suggestions for a future issue of our newsletter, "The Separatist" you can e-mail them to mailbox@wokinghammentalhealth.org.uk or send them to our address which can be found on the Contact page.
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Registered charity number 1043426 |