Lynda’s Story
Community has always been important to SAMH. From our beginnings, when people with mental health problems were routinely hospitalised or shut away, we made it our aim to help people connect in the communities they live in.
Our very first service, Sprout Market Garden in Edinburgh, used gardening as a tool to help people with mental health problems gain work experience in the community. Now, we still run thriving horticulture services in communities across Scotland, including Chrysalis in Dundee.
Lynda is an attendee and volunteer at Growing Chrysalis. The service helps her to focus, gives her a routine, and has taught her lots of new skills.
“It's been five years since my lowest mental health point and I can now honestly say that my mental health is at the best that it's ever been and that's down to SAMH’s Chrysalis project.
"The staff have always pushed me to do my best and believed in my abilities and given me tasks that would improve my skills, but other service users were also a key part in my recovery as they helped my confidence in meeting and talking to new people.
"For the first time in over five years I feel really optimistic about my future and the project has given me the confidence in even considering going back to college to study animal care.”
