Over lockdown, 1 in 5 people struggled with their mental health, and the sale of alcohol increased by over 40% in the month of June alone. Times are tough for everyone right now. For anyone already facing problems with drugs, alcohol or mental health it can be even harder. That's why staff and volunteers across We Are With You are rallying together to virtually cover the 2,000 mile distance between all of our services across England and Scotland, to show people #WeAreWithYou and raise funds to help even more people.

In Bournemouth, We Are With You currently provide harm minimisation advice and needle exchange service from our office. We are also (normally) the first point of call for people to drop in and access services, with a view to joining workshops like pre detox groups,  before people are able to access more structured treatment for drug and alcohol use at our other site in Boscombe. We also run a weekly family and carers support group to help family members to support their loved one's journey. Finally, we have a young persons and family service to support young people and their family members with their substance use.  

We have a couple of targets, depending on how much money is raised. Having listened to feedback from our service users, we want to make our main reception area more inviting and welcoming, and give it a new lease of life by decorating and painting it. Fortunately, we already have some new, colourful chairs in reception, and would like to raise money to buy paint to brighten the rest of the area up to match. 

However, were we to receive over £300 then the money would be spend on a memorial bench, to commemorate a long standing volunteer, Carole, who tragically passed away in July this year. We would like to purchase a plaque for the bench, for everyone to remember all the hard work she tirelessly put in for our organisation - having volunteered with us from 2015, and winning the 'Volunteer of the Year' award in 2017. Carole's presence around the organisation is missed every day and being able to celebrate her life in this way, and reflect on the impact she had, would mean a lot. 

The team leader for our Young Person's and Families service, Ryan, is pledging to row 200 miles during September to help make up the 2000 mile distance - and so any donations received will encourage him to keep going! The rest of the team are planning on walking 200 miles altogether, with a mixture of individual efforts and socially - distanced meetups to walk between the piers on Bournemouth beach. The sponsorships we receive will provide motivation while we're walking!

As part of the Walk With You campaign, half of the money raised will be directed towards We Are With You nationally, allowing us to allocate funding where it's needed the most. The other 50% will be used to benefit our service here in Bournemouth - either by helping us to transform the appearance of our service, or pay tribute to a wonderful member of our community. 

By donating today, you'll help more vulnerable people access support in ways that work for them. We need your help to show people that they are not alone; whether it's their own drinking, drug use or mental health they're worried about, or that of a loved one. As an organisation, over the last few months we've seen our Webchat activity (accessible through our website, wearewithyou.org.uk) increase by over 50%, with over 15% of the 17,000 sessions being with people concerned about their loved ones. You can help us continue to be there for them.

Thank you for your support, 

The Bournemouth team