Sarah has previously done paid and voluntary work and enjoys using her technical skills in I.T. and photography. These skills are called upon by her peers at Bridges where she often helps set their phones up, and answers technical queries. She also has a Level 3 Teaching Qualification which she achieved at Norwich City College. She can often be found in the tutor led art group, and runs the peer led diamond art group. She has taken part in other sessions at Bridges, including mindfulness, stretch and massage. Sarah said, “I go in and intend to do something in art; I do one bit of colouring and then I end up helping other people! I put myself to the bottom of the list. I love helping people, which is what I want to do, a job where I can help people.”
Sarah has also taken part in the more structured courses on offer to Bridges members, including a course called ‘S.M.A.R.T. Goals’, which is all about how to achieve your goals and another is the Toolkit Course, which teaches you how to build better habits.
Sarah said, “The courses were really good. The two courses overlap and complement each other, and highly recommends these courses to anyone. An example of S.M.A.R.T. Goals is clearing your house and making it tidy in each room. You learn to break things down into small steps. If you’re feeling anxious about something, you’ve got to think why. And you break it down into sections – What are my feelings? What’s going to happen? If you break it all down, you realise it’s maybe not as bad as you thought in the first place.”
Life has posed many challenges for Sarah, including the sudden death of her sister aged 31. At the time, Sarah had to leave her job working in a residential home. Sarah was bereaved again last year which triggered her depression. She said, “The anxiety was a lot worse since my mum was ill. Visiting her was really hard. My anxiety was really high. When I lost my mum, being able to come here really helped me.”
Sarah makes the most of all that Bridges has to offer. She contributes to the Newsletter Group by interviewing, taking photographs at the centre and writing up articles.
Another passion is music. She said, “I’m mad on music. I’ve seen David Bowie at the N.E.C., Birmingham in 2003, which was amazing. I also love Jimi Hendrix, Gary Moore, and Freddie Mercury, to name but a few.” Sarah was fortunate enough to see ‘The Nodding Donkeys’ aka Iron Maiden at their surprise undercover gig in Norwich in 1992 for the grand total of £5.00. Sarah has joined the Music Group and is learning to play the guitar. She enjoyed performing in the band at St Martins Fest at Eaton Park in the summer.
“Everyone here – they all care about people. You can tell that. I’ve been to a lot of different places, and this is one of the best places I’ve been to where you can tell that the staff and the people that come here and use the facilities genuinely care about each other. Even when I haven’t been alright, a staff member will go in a room and have a chat with me. It’s certainly made a difference to me by coming here.”