The Sharing Hub - The Why and How.

 

 

Background

At some point in most people's lives they either suffer with their own mental health issues whether that be loneliness, anxiety, depression or find themselves supporting a family member or close friend who is in that position. If it isn't mental health, then it's a physical health issue, be it someone fighting a terminal illness or living with a long-term chronic illness. While there is always lots of support for the people going through these issues, more is always needed. And, of course, when it comes to family members who support them, there is very little out there to help or support them.

Having watched very close members of my own family deal with serious illness within a couple of weeks of each other that included my mum being diagnosed with cancer and her subsequent fight against it including a hysterectomy less than 3 weeks after diagnosis, (not forgetting the chemo and radiotherapy that went on for months) my dad having a routine operation a day after my mum’s diagnosis, that went wrong and left him with internal bleeding requiring emergency surgery, followed by a stay in intensive care, and finally in the midst of all that, my brother breaking his leg so badly – that it required surgery and he wasn’t allowed to weight bare on it for 3 months - I became their main support system. All at once it felt as though their house had become a make-shift hospital with buckets for used needles (to prevent clots), visits by district nurses etc. and me doing everything from cooking to cleaning, food shopping and anything in between. All this has given me first-hand experience of how difficult and isolating it can become.

Friends can be great, but the truth is unless they have been through it, they understandably don’t really have any idea just how hard or isolating it is, and people saying “you can’t do everything” or “you need to have time for yourself”, or “a one off night out won’t do any harm” doesn’t help. Yes, we all need time out however that it isn’t always practical, and in most cases a night out drinking in bars isn’t enough.

For this reason, most people develop their own tried and tested ways of coping with all these things, but for whatever reason sometimes they don’t work, or for some people they don’t know where to start when it comes to trying to deal with it and practice self-care. More often than not family members who are the support system, are so busy concentrating on the family member who is dealing with the illness, they unintentionally forget about themselves, or just don’t have the time to consider how they’re feeling or their own needs.

What We Will Offer and How

It is for all of these reasons I have decided to set up The Sharing Hub, a social enterprise designed for the entire community to have access to. As our slogan states “A strong, supportive community, begins with compassion and collaboration”, I have put together a board made up of people who have all been through or are currently dealing with these issues and understand everything The Sharing Hub represents and what we are trying to achieve.

First and foremost, The Sharing Hub will create a safe, inspiring, positive online and physical space for anyone who needs it. We will offer online articles and blogs, life coaching, physical activity, provide regular safe places for people to meet up and talk, and share their experiences. It will allow people to form friendships to help combat loneliness or to give family members a break, and for people with chronic illness to be around other people who understand what they’re going through. Weekend retreats plus much more. 

It goes without saying that all of this will require a lot of work, support and of course money. With this in mind allow me to explain how I hope to fund this. We will charge a fee for some of the long-term personal extended services we will provide such as Life Coaching etc. Other services such as regular meet ups both physical and online will be completely free. We also plan to set up a charitable arm via a Patrons page for anyone who would like to sponsor/donate to The Sharing Hub and a business directory for any business who would like to advertise on our website, and run regular networking events for local business.

Getting Started

On top of this I strongly believe as the founder you have to practice what you preach, therefore I have decided to start the charity ball rolling by training to enter a sponsored power lifting competition with the help of my fab PT at The Body Circuit. I plan to blog/vlog my way through the entire journey from training to competition. All sponsorship will be greatly received throughout the journey with all the proceeds going to funding The Sharing Hub. As someone who trains 6 times a week, 3 of which are weight focused to help my mental health which hasn’t always been great - it seems like the perfect way to raise money for something I truly believe in and know can go on to have an incredible impact for the entire community.

 For ways to get involved or learn more about what we are trying to do, please feel free to get in touch anytime.

Danielle Xx