We at Elite Blinds and Shutters are celebrating our 20th anniversary in business and as part of our celebrations we are carrying out a series of challenges/events to raise money for our local mental health charity; Take Off.

Since the pandemic we have seen a dramatic increase of people struggling with mental health. We want to help contribute to this wonderful charity which have been affected by the pandemic.

Because of the pandemic, all face-to-face groups were postponed and until recently have just started opening back up. However due to financial constraints funding has not been available to get all groups up and running. This is where we come into action. Our goal is to raise £8000 to fund the weekly cooking group in Canterbury for the next year!

Take Off works for better physical and mental health. They are aware of the link between mental health problems and economic hardship, which also brings loneliness and lack of occupation and purpose. They are 100% user led, believing that people who’ve themselves come through the problems are best placed to help those currently afflicted.

They run entirely on the peer support model and most of their services take the form of self-help groups, which are either “talking” or “doing” focused.

These are some of the most popular groups that Take Off run for visitors:

• Walking Group
• Creative Group
• On The Farm
• Depression Group
• Cooking Group
• Gardening Group
• Mood Group.

Due to the pandemic, Take Off as an organisation had to adapt quickly to ensure that service users were still being supported during this difficult time. Service users benefited greatly from the one-to-one phone calls throughout the pandemic. For some, they were the only people they had verbal contact with during the week. These wellbeing calls provided solace and something to look forward to, reduced the feeling of isolation, reduced the feeling of loneliness, and provided a trusted listening ear for their anxieties, fears, and struggles. They created a call log and divided the service users amongst the peer workers to ensure that each service user was being called frequently. As their buildings were shut to the public, staff and peer workers agreed to work from home and were provided with mobile phones and laptops so they could all continue to work and continue to practice due diligence and GDPR. Staff would meet online for group support or contact an external agency for supervision and counselling.

Take Off provides ready-made social networks and provide other peer support services as needed. When a need is identified, they will endeavour to design, develop and deliver a service to fill that void. They have a large group of sessional workers spread across East Kent. They believe peer support is a significant part of our recovery process and therefore has an economic value. Their peer workers are paid over the living wage and whilst they are not anti-volunteering, they actively encourage those interested to train with them and join their workforce. Working in areas including Canterbury, Faversham, Herne Bay, Thanet, Dover and Folkestone, Take Off covers the whole of East Kent and Ashford.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So, it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.