Our Stories

In order to understand our story we feel it's important that you know the stories of some of the many people from our community that we have helped in the past and continue to help to this day.

We very gratefully thank those who feature in the following extracts. Some of the names and faces may have been changed for confidentiality purposes.

Krystyna's Story

Krystyna was referred to Wellspring by her G.P. after an accident at work that caused her constant pain. She was also diagnosed with depression and she struggled to get through the day.

Wellspring provided her with a course of psycho-social counselling as part of Bristol's primary mental health service. This supported her to manage her depression and to begin to increase her level of physical activity through walking and gardening. She was also referred to St Paul's Advice Centre for benefit advice. Krystyna has improved both mentally and physically:

"It changed my life by talking to someone who is understanding me without judging. I am now back to my normal life."

Mihai's Story

Mihai came to the Roma Drop-In with various issues: he spoke very little English, couldn't find work and was in debt. He and his family were also at risk of becoming homeless.

Wellspring referred Mihai to English-language classes. We helped him apply for a card that enabled him to work in construction. We also referred Mihai to St Paul's Advice Centre for welfare advice and to Talking Money for debt advice. Wellspring's worker attended appointments with Mihai to help facilitate communication.

Mihai is now in full time employment and continues to pay off his debts. His English level has improved and no longer needs support from Wellspring.

"The help I received was priceless. It helped me get my life back on track and build a new life for myself in the UK."

Fay's Story

Fay is a full time carer with 3 older children living at home, one of whom has a disability. Fay has type 2 diabetes; she wanted to learn about cooking for her condition and what that would mean in a family setting.

Wellspring worked with Fay over an 8-week period to cook a variety of foods, recognise portion sizes, reduce salt and sugar intake and understand what is a balanced diet. We also helped Fay to introduce more fish into her family's diet, and reduce the amount of red meat they ate. Fay was also introduced to alternatives to sugar, and where and how to shop for healthy foods near her home.

"I learnt how to cook with less salt and sugar, which is good for me. I want to look after my health."

Shelley's Story

Shelley was referred to Dreamtime Arts by her family support worker at the children's centre. She was depressed and anxious. She felt isolated, had poor self-esteem and little motivation.

Attending Dreamtime Arts gave Shelley time-out for herself. Shelley also discovered that she liked drawing and that it helped her to manage her anxiety.

Dreamtime Arts has also helped her children: her son overcame his separation anxiety and Shelley now feels confident he will soon be ready to start nursery. Shelley showed her daughter what she did in Dreamtime Arts and since then together they make art before bedtime. This helps calm both Shelley and her daughter and provides quality time before sleep.

Shelley has gone on the join the Sensory Playgroup at the children's centre with her son. She now feels more ready to attend other groups, including Job club.

Janet's Story

Janet had financial difficulties along with physical health conditions that impacted on her mental health. Wellspring provided one-to-one psycho-social support. We referred her to BOOST for help with her financial difficulties and to apply for Personal Independence Payments. We also referred her to Bristol Community Health Dietetics for support with her physical health.

For her anxiety, Wellspring supported her to use mindfulness and cognitive behaviour techniques and was referred to Wellspring's volunteer counsellor for 12 sessions. Janet was also referred to Wellspring's low-cost complementary therapy service - Roots To Health.

"This service has significantly contributed to my progress by enabling me to be more proactive in my life."

Dan's Story

Dan first approached Wellspring as a single parent wanting to be more involved in his community. Since starting with the Time Out for Men peer group, he continues to take part in many activities at Wellspring and elsewhere. A ten week course of Kitchen on Prescription has helped him to lose some weight and feel healthier by learning about nutrition and cooking on a budget.

Dan has gone on to become an active member of the Single Parent's Action Network (SPAN), and with help from Wellspring he has also contacted LIFT Psychology Bristol, where he will be able to get help to improve his mental health further.

As an active member of several local drop-in groups, Dan helps to maintain supportive networks in the community for the benefit of others as well as himself and his 2-year old child.

Aleksy's Story

Aleksy began coming to the Polish language Time Out for Men group to socialise and draw on peer support from other men, but he also recognised a need to improve his English language skills.

After attending Wellspring's 6-week ESOL class, Aleksy found that his confidence was improving along with his personal wellbeing; following a mock job interview activity, he's now waiting to attend his first real-world job interview.

Aleksy has also been able to cut down on alcohol, and he knows that he will be able to access one-to-one therapy in Polish language at Wellspring when he is ready.

Kay's Story

Kay attended psychosocial support sessions with Mandy, one of Wellspring's Wellbeing Officers.

"Mandy talked to me about different activities to take part in at the Wellspring. She told me about a local endowment fund. I received funding to have complementary therapies with the Roots to Health clinic at Wellspring."

Since receiving Bach flower remedies and acupuncture with Bea at the clinic, Kay feels more relaxed and more confident in her daily life.

"I even managed to go away for a break on my own. Bea was lovely,she was very calming and approachable, she was easy to talk to and always made me feel at ease."

Get in touch

If you are interested in finding out more about our work, or would like to get involved, then just pop into the Centre for details, email us or call us.

0117 304 1400

Email an enquiry