Kathryn

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"Hi. I'm Kathryn and I'm from Stockton-on-Tees, although I'm originally from Bolton!

I became aware of Mental Health about 20 years ago when I had a nasty car accident that changed my life. This is probably where my journey with anxiety started, but I didn't know it at the time as it wasn't widely talked about. Since starting my own business in 2014 my anxiety got worse, my stress levels rose and I ended up seeing a counsellor to help me cope. I still struggle with anxiety to this day and find it hard to switch my mind off on an evening. It feels like I'm on a constant rollercoaster ride with highs and lows, but now I have the tools and the people to help me through it. 

I got involved in Red Balloons through Leigh, as we used to work together, and am proud to be part of such an amazing team. I'm passionate about helping other people, especially business owners, improve their mental health and not be afraid to say that they're struggling, are stressed, feel overwhelmed or are anxious. They're not alone. My favourite saying is "Its OK not to be OK"."

"Hi, I'm Kylie, I'm 34 years old, married and have 2 beautiful children and 1 fur baby. I've always struggled with anxiety but since the beginning of the pandemic it magnified how bad my OCD was. It took a long to admit to my husband and family how much I was struggling but once I finally took that step of reaching out and asking for help, it was the best thing I could of done and I know that I don't have to do this on my own. I'm so excited to be volunteering for Red Balloons as it's such an amazing charity. I love talking to and helping others as its so important for us to be open about mental health and not struggling in silence."

“My name is Emma and I am a married mum of 2 boys. I am currently working on my level 2 in counselling and hope to progress to level 3 and further to a degree.  I enjoy walking and helping people and am a good listener. Although new to Red Balloons I am pleased to become a volunteer, watching it grow and helping people.  I have experience and would like to help people in similar situations as family members or friends to those in addiction or recovery as well as other mental health issues.  I am happy to walk, listen and chat when you are ready 😊 Thanks Emma “

" Hi, my name is Dawn. I'm a mother of two children living in Hartlepool. I first became aware of Red Balloons after reading Claire's blog. I was amazed at how raw and open she was regarding her own struggles. At that time I was on a  downward spiral where I took inspiration from Claire and started my own healing journey. My mental health was at its lowest in my early teens, trauma led me to attempted suicide and self medicating for years to follow. Failed friendships\relationships for years, no self esteem and left feeling things would never change, self harmed as a release. Until I had my son he is 15 now, he gave me a purpose and I genuinely believe he saved my life. Since reading Claire's blog, I have been on my own journey of self improvement, I left a toxic marriage 5 years ago, went back to college to study mental health level 1 and 2. Opened a  peer support in Hartlepool which I l ran for 4 years. The power of peer support is so humbling to see.  I have learned so much not just about myself but about others as well. The past 5 years I have worked hard on my own mindset. I can't be there fully for my loved ones if I am not looking after myself first. I have looked inward, taken accountability for my own actions, stopped being a people pleaser, set healthy boundaries, taken back my power from things I can not control. I have a new lease of life, I have found ways of settling my own anxiety such as cold water therapy, meditation, reading and hiking. I still have my struggles but it's nothing like that crippling pain anymore. Active listening is so important we all want to be seen and heard. I am so passionate about advocating for mental health and so humbled to have been asked to join such an amazing team. I am so excited for the future and the direction Red Balloons is going. Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life."

!!! COMING SOON !!!

"Hi, I’m Emma.

I’m a proud Teessider with strong ties to our communities, with a passion for doing good and makong change – for the better. I am a wife, stepmum (and soon-to-be 'Mam' too!), sister, daughter and in-law. 

My professional background was firmly rooted in the Third Sector for many years in marketing, fundraising and management but these days my ‘day job’ revolves around designing and implementing high impact Marketing for a huge range of companies across the North East. 

Improving mental health is something I am hugely passionate about. Like many, I have had some incredibly poor experiences with the more ‘traditional’ support routes and know from experience that these are not always suitable for the individual in need. Knowing the services provided by Red Balloons have been designed with real people, real experiences and real passion is what makes us so unique – and vital.  

 I discovered the work of Red Balloons a few years ago and supported the fundraising and visibility of the organisation as best I could from a corporate partnership perspective, seeing and acknowledging how incredibly needed and beneficial the activity was in our community.

Today, I am exceptionally proud to join the board of Trustees to help evolve the organisation, raise its profile further and perhaps, support the delivery of services to more community users too. It is an incredibly exciting time for Red Balloons – I look forward to seeing what is next… "