A Swansea mother has turned her life around after turning to key mental health services offered by Action for Children in the city.
As the charity marks World Mental Health Day on October 10th, Grace Smith has spoken of how Swansea SAIL has given her the counselling and general support to deal with her mental health issues and put her in a position to start training to be a nurse.
Grace said: ‘I was diagnosed with post-natal depression after the birth of my daughter and nothing seemed to work, I withdrew and had no friends and wouldn’t leave the house. I was recommended Swansea SAIL with Action for Children and I received counselling from Dawn Harley. She was amazing and I began to feel much better about my life again. I also went to Swansea SAIL support groups, met other mothers with similar issues and I haven’t looked back.
‘It’s been great for my mental health and my daughter and I can’t imagine how life would be if I hadn’t had this support. I’m now training to be a nurse and that wouldn’t be possible without Action for Children because they’ve helped see life in a different way so I can’t thank them enough.’
Swansea SAIL is a service that offers one-to-one and group support for young parents and parents-to-be aged 14 to 25 years old living in the city. The project tailors an approach that suits individual needs including support from a life coach or a multi systemic therapist, informal advocacy, individual or couples therapy, preparing for court and dealing with having a child in foster care or adopted.
The service also helps our young parents or parents-to-be with wellbeing, emotional resilience, isolation, self-esteem and confidence to help them become the best parents they can be.
Dawn Harley, Grace’s Action for Children counsellor, said: ‘Grace was a joy to work with and shows no matter how low you get, you can turn it around with the right support. Swansea SAIL support has helped Grace thrive again and is a shining example of what can happen when you are honest about your mental health and want to embrace the support that Action for Children provides to young parents in Swansea. We’re very proud of Grace and it’s great to see her flying.’
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