For David Gartland, organising a fundraising challenge for us in 2023 – our 80th anniversary year – was particularly close to his heart. Not only was it a chance to thank us for the life-changing support he’d received, but it also marked a huge personal victory for him after a challenging few years.
David, 35, first reached out to us for support in 2021 following a period of mental health difficulties.
It had got to the point he was drinking heavily and gambling, resulting in a lot of financial stress, but hadn’t realised how bad it had got until his colleagues spoke to him and raised their concerns.
The moment he realised, he picked up the phone and called us – and he now says he wants to encourage others to make that same contact as early as they can, to avoid things getting as bad as they did for him.
“I’d been through a break-up with my partner and my mental health took a major dip,” says David, a father-of-one.
Donate now to support more people like David
“It was happening right through Covid so all the things I’d normally do to clear my head like camping and walking were all put on hold. I was in the house drinking heavily – binge drinking really – and that then led to gambling. It just snowballed.
“I didn’t know what day of the week it was sometimes and it got to the point I actually gambled my whole month’s wage in one night at one point. I woke up the next day and it was gone.
“I was getting offered support at the time but I just wasn’t taking it and trying to keep making my own decisions. The anxiety then heaped up at missing work as I was off sick, my finances being so bad and just general life. I started hiding from the world and isolating myself.”
As things piled up for David, his colleagues began noticing something wasn’t right – and he says it was this that finally made him realise himself that he needed help.
“I didn’t know any of this at the time and didn’t put my attendance dropping down to the drinking and mental health at all – I just honestly thought I was forgetting and nothing was wrong,” he adds.
“But while I was in denial, my whole Watch and even others were noticing it. My Watch Commander at the time told me about the Reset Programme at Harcombe House and by then I’d finally recognised I needed help, so I got in touch about it.”
David was offered a place on the programme, after speaking with our Assessment Practitioner team, and attended in November 2021.
Our Reset Programme offers our beneficiaries the opportunity to develop and improve their resilience and overall mental fitness, with a programme of workshops and activities tailored to their individual needs.
“It was absolutely brilliant, I got the chance to meet others there who were all sharing their stories and to be honest it put mine into perspective, hearing what other people had been through,” says David.
“Even after Harcombe House it wasn’t an immediate cure, it took me a lot of time to get to where I am now, but it started that process for me.
“A big issue to resolve was my finances. I was lucky enough, later on, to receive some financial support from the Charity as well, as things had got so bad at that point. That was all done over the phone and was a real lifeline for me at the time.”
David has since taken steps to improve his overall wellbeing, including stopping drinking and registering himself on Gamstop, which prevents him gabling anywhere online.
He’s also remained in touch with us and continued with exercises he was given at Harcombe House, as well as becoming a Mental Wellbeing Champion with his station to help others.
“If I can help somebody else then that’s grand,” he says.
As a thank you for the support he received, David organised a cycling challenge from Paisley Fire Station – where he’s based – to Jubilee House, our centre in Cumbria, in June 2023. And the team smashed their £2,000 target.
As part of his fundraising, David reached out to local businesses to increase support, and eight of them kindly donated £100 each to us: Push PT, UAV360, EVT, Hottub.scot, BCE ltd, Beyard services, BBB Boxing and Brickland Builders, whose sponsorship paid for the cycle tops to be made.
AK Rental also organised a support vehicle free of charge for the event.
You can support the team’s fundraiser at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paisley-2penrith and you can see photos from their challenge below:
