I was lucky enough to be invited to the 20th Anniversary celebrations of the wonderful Bath charity, Developing Health & Independence (DHI). They provide specialist help for individuals in Bath and our wider region whose lives have fallen apart, for whatever reason. No We were treated to some moving testimonies, some wonderful music, speeches and poetry, and some inspiring stories. It was a very special evening, and a great privilege to attend.
Much of what I heard resonated with me. In my work as a volunteer in the BathNES Community Resilience Team, I patrol the River in the early hours. I've had to talk to people on the riverbank at 2.30am in the morning, people who are very distressed and despondent, often with alcohol or other dependancy problems. We refer them to organisations like DHI.
It was good to see the end of this process, and what wonderful work is done by DHI who - as one of their clients put it - literally give people back their lives.
The reasons some people end up vulnerable and socially excluded are complex, but we need to ensure structures are in place which they can either easily access themselves, or be easily referred to. As we saw last Friday, there are incredibly talented, creative, imaginative, decent peple who for various reasons end up on the wrong track. Huge credit to the team at DHI - staff and volunteers - who help these people get back on the right path, to the benefit of us all.
