This, I thought, would make life a bit easier. I would be able to construct a support network around myself, and hopefully this would enable me to try to find a way forward, a way out of this deep, dark hole I find myself in.
The first thing I should point out is that there are literally thousands of charities based in the UK with an aim to supporting mental health issues. 'That's great', I thought, as surely with this many charities, I would surely find at least one suitable for me...
The things I decided that I may wish to seek assistance with are:
- Advocacy
- Emotional Support
- Financial Support
Eyes. Wide. Open
Firstly, within fifteen minutes of searching, something became immediately obvious... Charities CAN discriminate.
I suppose in realistic terms every charity has to have a strict criteria for who they support. I do understand that otherwise they would not last long at all, they would be doling out support and funds so quickly that they would run out of resources in days.
Let's start from the basics, I looked at what I consider to be the 'big' charities. I looked for charities who have support available in Merseyside. I found one, CALM.
You'd think, well there you go, CALM is the one for you. But, you'd be wrong. CALM will only support men. I am outside their demographic, the search goes on...
** So far - gender goes against me **
I used a charity search to look for smaller, local charities. Surely, somewhere in here I must fit into somebody's criteria... After all, I have a variety of diagnoses and I am a human citizen of the area, right?
The next charity I came across seemed to suit me perfectly. A charity supporting people in my area who have a diagnosis of Bipolar disorder. Perfect!! No... Sadly I don't qualify as I am heterosexual :( and this charity works with people in the LGBT community.
** So far - gender and sexuality go against me **
But that's ok, for here is a charity with similar criteria, no mention of sexuality, and it says it's for females. BINGO!!! Oh wait, no, I am not in the specified Ethnic community...
** So far - gender, sexuality and race go against me **
By this point I am giving up hope, when suddenly I see it. A Liverpool based charity, supporting women with Mental Health disorders, by this point I nearly cried with joy... I clicked upon the link, the headquarters is based in Liverpool City Centre... Could this be the one??? Oh, no... Although it is based in Liverpool, it supports people from Knowsley and Sefton only!!!!!!!!
** That's it, I literally fit in nobody's criteria **
I should stress here, I have NO PROBLEM with charities cherry picking who they support at all, but I have a problem that this leaves people with all the same problems with NOBODY to help them :(
What next??
Do I use a family member's address, pretend I live in Knowsley?? Do I claim to be homosexual??
Or, do I raise awareness myself. I have started a twitter campaign, @EndingStigma, to raise awareness of the issues I, like many others, encounter daily. Along with this blog, I hope to go some way to make a difference.
One outcome has been decided already; once I am well enough I intend to either join a charity and bring them to my area, or start a charity of my own, after all, I can't be the only white, heterosexual, female scouser who needs access to this type of support, right??
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