Lee hopes fundraiser will inspire others
A TWYFORD pub will be hosting a fundraiser for a mental health charity at the beginning of next month.
Regulars of the Waggon and Horses have arranged a day of events on Sunday, May 1, to raise funds for Prospect Park Hospital.
The hospital, on Honey End Lane in Reading, is the main NHS site for people in Berkshire with mental health conditions.
It has a number of inpatient wards, including provision for people with learning difficulties and a specialist dementia unit.
Pub-goer Lee Tennant joined forces with friends David Somner and Richard Burns, the pub’s landlord, to organise the day.
Lee chose to raise money for Prospect Park following his own mental health struggles.
“I have always struggled with anxiety and depression, but 2020 was the worst year ever,” Lee says.
“Before lockdown, I split with my girlfriend.
“I began to self-harm regularly and was having suicidal thoughts.”
He tried counselling, hypnotherapy, medication, breathing exercises, running and listening to podcasts on mental health.
“Nothing was working and I was at my lowest ebb,” he says.
“But in December 2020 I plucked up the courage to tell people how bad I was feeling on social media.
“The support I got from my family and friends was mind-blowing and I realised that keeping things to yourself is the worst thing you can do.”
Lee credits people checking in on him with saving his life. He trained to become a mental health adviser following the death of a friend who took his own life.
And another of Lee’s friends has a family member who is being helped
at Prospect Park, following severe problems with their mental health.
He explains that “their problems began following a sexual assault, and things got so bad that they attempted to take their own life several times.”
“Eventually they were sectioned. “They have been in several units, but has made real progress in Prospect Park.
“They will soon be moving into assisted living in the community, and the family are so relieved.”
Lee, David and Richard are all hopeful that the event is successful at both raising funds for the hospital and encouraging people to talk openly about mental health issues.
Tickets cost £7, under 18s are free. There will be a barbecue and raffle from 2pm raffle, and music from rock covers band Wise Monkeys beginning at 7pm.
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