JourneyMEN Volunteers

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   Certified Mental Health First Aider with MHFA England  
 

Paul has worked for the NorthWest Ambulance Service for the last 24 years. During this time he has undertaken a variety of roles. He has shown great empathy and a very good listening ear in supporting colleagues and the general public. 

Paul has personal experience with mental health. Following a traumatic family event in 2009, and a number of upsetting life challenges, he suffered a breakdown in 2010. After seeking help via counselling and other support, Paul has been able to regain control of his life. 

These life experiences have helped to strengthen Paul’s resolve, giving him the tools and information which he is keen to share with others. His sensitive and caring nature has already helped many others to share their own experiences with him and he has been able to assist them in getting the right h

   Certified Mental Health First Aider with MHFA England  
 

Ben is the chairman and founder of Wirral Sea Angling Academy, a therapeutic based not for profit constituted organisation that promotes well-being and recovery through the median of sea fishing. He started this to beat his own heroin addiction. 

After beating cancer, he developed an opiate addiction which led to heroin use, homelessness and his daughter going to live with his mum. In his own words it cost him everything. 

He has now been completely clean for over two years and now specialises in teaching fishing to amputees and the chronically disabled. Having said that, anyone and everyone is welcome. 

His daughter is now six and goes fishing with her dad a couple of times a week. In Ben’s own words: “I was the world’s most hopeless, degenerate junky, if I can sort myself out and become a productive member of society, anyone can”.

JourneyMEN’s fishing club events are facilitated by Ben and the team.  

Des originally came to JourneyMEN as a client. After surgery on his spine 3 years ago, he has been left in pain and awaiting further spinal surgery. Due to this, he found himself socially isolated and withdrawn from society, becoming quiet and reserved. 

After engaging with the team at JourneyMEN on the Walk and Talk and Sea Fishing events over a number of weeks, Des felt he was ready to volunteer for JourneyMEN. Discovering a mutual passion for sea fishing, he now works closely with Ben to advise and plan our sea fishing events. 

He feels he has now completed his journey with us, now giving something back by and helping change other men’s lives in the way JourneyMEN has changed his. 

Toby grew up in Ellesmere Port, where he lived for a few years before moving to the Wirral. He’s had a wide variety of jobs from retail, call centre and office work; before making the decision to take a complete shift from anything he had done previously to train as a Diagnostic Radiographer. 

When he’s not working as his everyday profession at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, he’s volunteering at JourneyMEN in his spare team. 

Having had some personal experience with mental health difficulties, Toby knows how incredibly challenging it can be juggling life's everyday challenges and looking after yourself at the same time.

He first decided to join JourneyMEN after his parents encouraged him to do so after hearing about JourneyMEN’s operations manager Liam, who told his story about overcoming his own mental health struggles on Radio Merseyside. 

After visiting the JourneyMEN website, he felt an “overwhelming feeling” to get involved. Since getting involved, he has never looked back.