TESTIMONIALS

Kathy and her team at something positive solutions are amazing they greet you with a smile and a hug and are so caring and kind .They are always ready to listen and give much needed positive advice .

This group was recommended to me by Tanya a social prescriber through my doctors' surgery. 

I actually didn't know groups like this existed but I'm so glad this one does ,it has been such a big part of my recovery journey .

I have been attending the group on a Tuesday morning .

It is a calm ,peaceful and relaxing place everybody is so lovely. Nobody is judged ,or put on the spot ,you can join in as much or as little as you want, which is piece of mind for me as I suffer from anxiety and expectations make it worse. 

I have been taking part in art sessions creating different pieces of work from painting ,to felt making and sewing .

Calm music is played and it is so relaxing it gives me a huge sense of belonging and a purpose which is what I have been struggling with .

Some of the ladies who attend have become my forever friends and it's nice to know someone is there .We also check in with each other regularly ,as do Kathy and her team sending positively and love to each other which can be so needed each day .

After each session we do meditation led by Kathy or Sam which allows us to benefit from the strategies shown to take forward into our everyday.

From shaking with fear , anxiety and needing a friend to support me the first time I went to this group. To now being able to attend by myself gives me the strength I need 

going forward to know I can achieve things again .

A little piece of heaven with beautiful people is how I would describe this group and I am so grateful they were there for me .

- Shirley O'Donovan 

I’ve worked with Kathy and Something Positive Solutions (SPS) for the past 5 years and a number of projects.  Every project has different requirements, but they all have a common theme of working in the community with the hardest to reach clients.  Kathy has always been the solution to many problems as SPS delivers unique and informal programmes that have a massive impact on the learners.  Kathy, has had a positive impact on so much lives in Hartlepool. Kathy is a leader, a voice of reason and someone I’m proud to call a friend now.

 MALCOLM YORK

My name is Anthony Lowe and I am the HAF Programme Coordinator for Hartlepool Borough Council.

Something Positive Solutions CIC has established itself within the voluntary sector here in Hartlepool. Kathy and her volunteers have been a part of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme in Hartlepool for two years now and have been fantastic to work with.

Kathy and her team care deeply about the people they work with and their work around mindfulness and wellbeing has helped countless people, many of whom go on to become volunteers and spread this work further.

As part of the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, or Hartlepool Holiday Fun as we have named ours, SPS has always been one of our best attended programmes and has many of the children itching to return again. They introduce children and young people from as young as 5 years old to the intricacies of mindfulness through meditation, group work activities, crafts, physical activities and engaging with nature.

SPS are always willing to work with myself and others in the Local Authority, as well as other VCS organisations and anyone else who they believe can benefit. Kathy and her team are a joy to work with and it is great to see a small group from Hartlepool getting the recognition it deserves.

 I'm so grateful the universe brought me to Kathy and SPS. I randomly had a massive panic attack last year, didn't know what it was, thought I was dying. Then because it was so traumatic I started to struggle with life even though I was fine before this happened. It was like I had become this vulnerable person who couldn't manage in the world, full of fear, worried about breathing, worried about swallowing food, shaking, so scared on this earth. I was referred to SPS by my boss in volunteer sector. When I went to see Kathy it was like a feeling of this is where I need to be. Kathy gave me a mantra of I am safe, I am loved , I am enough and just for today I will try not to worry. I took this home with me and used it outside with nature, it was the only way I could heal at the time. By doing the breathwork and mantra and being with the universe. Kathy also told me about crystals and which one would help me, so I wore it and one day it disappeared from me, but the lace chain was still there. This meant I didn't need the crystal anymore as it had done its job. When I go to SPS there is a special energy especially when there is a group of women at the sessions, we all connect and find coincidences and natural attractions. And I thank Kathy and the universe for making this happen. My mental health has improved so so much and yes I have a long way to go, but by having SPS here in Hartlepool, I have a place to go for my healing and learning journey. Without it there is no place for my mental health to improve because things like counselling and CBT is a big no for me, it doesn't work. I am a spiritual person and being around other spiritual woman who are all helping each other and want the best for each other, no judging, no negativity towards other people's successes just great vibes and positivity,  understanding, light and love. Even on the first day of meeting others. Thank you SPS,

Sam Andrews 

I have always shied away from groups, especially women's groups! 

But having hit a low point in my life, and basically become a recluse!  I was encouraged to attend a women's empowerment group at Something Positive Solutions. 

I was so nervous, but from the moment I walked in, I felt nothing but love, inclusion and friendship! 

The support and encouragement within the group is so uplifting.

My days are a lot brighter because of this group.

I'm even open to hugging now! X

EMMA DB

I work for an organisation called Recovery Connections and we have been working closely with Kathy and Positive Solutions. 

It has been a wonderful experience working with Kathy, she has facilitated some amazing meditation sessions for our team, she has carried out fantastic training on how to destress in the workplace and most importantly she has shared an allotment with our organisation where we are going to turn it into a community wellbeing garden. 

Positive Solutions and Kathy are pillars of the community and doing some amazing work in Hartlepool, my words could not do their efforts justice. 

Thank you for all your help and support. 

I was signposted to SPS over a year ago and I'm so glad I went along, I was suffering with poor mental health at the time, the ladies have helped me alot and iv come a long way, with their non judgemental, welcoming, relaxing atmosphere its the perfect place to start your healing journey ❤️

 JO

Peter and the Recovery Connections team. 

As a service user of SPS my wellbeing has dramatically improved. This is because it has taught me coping mechanisms through meditation and has also introduced me to a community network with a collective incentive of empowerment. I have met people in similar situations to myself and also people from different cultures and backgrounds. I have received help with my mental health and applying for benefits as well as being sign posted to the correct service when needed, if SPS are unable to help. The volunteers at SPS will go above and beyond to help the service users and promote a respectful all-inclusive environment. I strongly believe that a lot of my recovery is to do with the involvement of SPS.

I am now a volunteer at SPS due to my passion for their cause and my educational background in sociology. This has furthered my healing process and gave me a great sense of meaning and purpose.

I am eternally grateful for the impact SPS has had on my life.

Jamie Leigh West

 Women fleeing domestic abuse, or whom have never gained a qualification or had a meaningful job, or who may have a dependency issue, often have little sense of self worth. They feel at the bottom of the pile, that life has dealt them a hard hand. Lived experience they have in spades, but it has always been of the wrong kind.

Kathy Dales set up Something Positive Solutions to address the issues preventing women ‘from being the best version of themselves’, as she neatly puts it. Five years on the organisation has become one of the leaders in the field in Hartlepool of ‘repairing’ women’s lives. Over a hundred ladies, each with their own individually tailored programme of support, have gone on to find work, or volunteer, or re-unite with their families, or break free from or reduce their dependency. It doesn’t work in every case-but most of the time it does.

Kathy is a force of nature- passionate, committed and dedicated to her cause. Long may she continue, as, sadly, demand for the service continues.

We are delighted Kathy has been nominated for the Kings Award for Voluntary Service and feel she would without question be a most worthy winner.

Peter Gowland