Headway Portsmouth 2015-2016 slideshow

[Matt2584]

youtu.be/Ave694ReY08(Not working as expected?)

[TiredNan]

Thanks for the clip Matt! They look a real smiley group of folks

[Matt2584 in reply to TiredNan]

Thanks for that Nan. They are a lovely bunch of people :).

A friend of mine and ex volunteer of Headway once said to me that they believe that good things come from bad things and I definitely agree with that as well.

In a very weird way, I am glad that I have a brain injury because if I didn't I would not be a member of Headway, I would not know the people from my local Headway, I would not be aware of this website and we would not be having this conversation right now :).

Find the positives from the negatives.

[TiredNan in reply to Matt2584]

I do think good comes from bad eventually also. I have met some lovely people post head injury that I would never have met before.

I do miss my old self but definitely I have learned a lot about the goodness of others especially strangers who have helped out.

I'm sure that there are a lot of positives to come for you Matt even though theres a few bumps on the road you will get through.

Look after yourself too,

[Matt2584 in reply to TiredNan]

Thank you for that Nan :).

As John Connor once said in the film 'The Terminator' "The future is not set".

I have seen a similar quote to that on the internet meaning the same sort of thing. I think it was something like,

"Your current situation is not your final destination".

[cat3]

What a modern & well equipped centre you have at Portsmouth ; no wonder everyone looks so enthusiastic. I love the fact they have trikes too.............great for fun, fresh air, exercise and general lifting of spirits.

My local Headway closed down before I had chance to investigate it though I think there's another in the next-but-one town. I know you travel a fair distance to your branch Matt. x

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

Not all of those pictures were taken at our Headway centre. The trikes were at the main centre in Portsmouth. I think the trikes must have been a one off thing because I haven't ridden any yet.

Some photos were taken in other places. Some were from the Gosport outreach centre (which is where I go Friday mornings) and some were taken at the Petersfield outreach.

Some were taken at the grounds of St. James hospital which was where our Headway used to own a cottage.

The reason why they moved was because St. James own the cottage but were charging Headway a very extortionate amount for rent. Ridiculous really, Headway are just a charity at the end of the day.

I hate the way everything seems to be about money now, it's really quite sick and it's pathetic cos money is just material, there's no real value to it.

As I said I go to the Gosport outreach on Friday mornings which is just over a mile from where I live and sometimes on a Thursday I travel over to the main centre in Portsmouth which usually takes just over an hour to get there.

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

Why am I not surprised at that ? No doubt Headway were occupying valuable 'profit' space at the cottage.

After my local Headway disappeared a golf club sprouted up ...............MUCH more profit to be had there now !

.........don't get me started !!

Good to see folk enjoying themselves by just being together, regardless of location. Great photos. xx

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

When I was first assessed by the Headway staff in 2007, their main offices were in Paulsgrove. At first I was mainly going to the Gosport outreach as it was closest to home and I virtually had no confidence back then so you wouldn't see me making my way to Portsmouth either.

Later on in 2007, Headway moved from Paulsgrove to the cottage at St. James hospital called West Lodge. The cottage was brilliant, it was a proper rehabilitation centre. They had a garden and furniture was donated to them also service users did a little gardening which is very therapeutic and is essential for brain injured people.

They had a nice kitchen which had been tarted up a bit and there were cookery sessions going on at times with the service users.

around 2008/09 is when the government decided to stop funding a lot of charities and things got tough from there. By 2013 Headway had to move out. As I said before, Headway had to pay an extortionate amount of money on rent. You would think as Headway is a charity St. James would lower the rent for them but no, when greed takes over. They could have put an end to Headway Portsmouth.

Anyhow, thankfully they did not and Headway now own a suite/small section of the Mountbatten centre. When I say "Small section" I mean small, it's about half the size of West Lodge, maybe more. There is no garden and there is a kitchen but unfortunately the Mountbatten staff also need to use the kitchen at times so no service users should really be in there.

So throughout these rough times we have lost a lot of staff members as well and at the moment there are 3 payed members of staff and we rely on volunteers. The staff definitely improve things and bring in new ideas and it is what has made Headway Portsmouth grow and grow and is a much happier place.

We might not be in the most ideal location at the moment but we certainly do work around it :).

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

Well done to all those who work together keeping such vital services going !! x

[angelite]

It's lovely to see the benefit all the service users are enjoying. So much variety in activities ! From the more physical events to everyday living skills, crafts, general fellowship and socialising, something for everyone : )

Headway do an amazing job with their funds : thanks to all the fundraisers : )

Long may it continue ! Thanks for sharing this uplifting video, Matt : ) x

[Matt2584]

I agree, long may it continue and I'm glad you appreciate the video :).