Leeds and surrounding areas

[t0rt01se36]

There used to be an NMP get together in Leeds.

RecycledHippy used to attend the meet up's and he's wondering why the meet up's have stopped, how those members are and if there are gonna be anymore meet up's that are gonna be arranged, in Leeds or maybe near Harrogate?.

[Richard1960]

Yes i think BobbyDog who used to post on here used to help organise them think she become disheartened with the turnouts and no longer sadly posts on here.

Which is a shame because i found her really nice to talk to.

[Tyke]

The Leeds & West Yorkshire meetings were originally very successful and Sarah (BobbyDog) and Rebecca (speckles69uk) did a really fantastic job. I attended some of these meetings, which seemed at the time they would go from strength to strength as there was a reasonable and growing amount of interest shown in the group. I was unable to get to further meetings due to severe depression, bereavement and ultimately a family suicide, which left me on further medication and virtually housebound for quite some years afterwards, though I always intended to go back to the meetings once I had recovered sufficiently. I guess that is the problem with running any groups of this kind - we are all struggling so much with a whole array of issues and sometimes we can barely function in our own locality, let alone manage anything else. I'm sure many people like me would have wanted to go to the Leeds meetings, but were completely unable to do so due to our fragile mental states at the time.

I am sorry that the Leeds & West Yorkshire group folded, but it is no reflection on the people who ran it, but more on the deeply troubled people (like me!) they sought to help. I guess that's where the internet comes to our rescue, as we don't need to go out of our way to share our issues in cyberspace, any time, night or day. I really hope Sarah and Rebecca realise that their efforts were appreciated, even though at the time many of us may have been completely unable to say so and that the groups demise was no reflection on their hard work.

[t0rt01se36]

I followed the posts alot, about the Leeds Meet Up.

It's a shame that the group stopped meeting up, and I agree that BobbyDog did so well, organising the meet up's.

Sadly , my health wasn't good enough to attend.

Do any of the members still keep in touch with each other?

[AFin26]

I would attend such a group for certain

[Yorkshirewife]

So would I!

[GirlAfraid23]

I'm up for this, I have recently moved to West Yorkshire and would love to meet people.

[Tyke]

It would be nice to see the group going again, but if you read the old messages from the previous Leeds meet ups it was obviously struggling to get sufficient numbers towards the end. I would imagine any future group would stand more chance of success if it was launched in the spring or summer as cold damp weather and dark nights would be a complete turn off for many. It is always going to be difficult to get people with our issues to make it to a group, so anything that makes it easier for them is a bonus.

The original group initially met at Wetherspoons in Leeds railway station, which allowed people to travel in from the surrounding area and not have to spend too long anxiously searching around for the venue. Leeds is such a big city and the surrounding region does have a very large population which gives it an advantage in terms of potential numbers. It's hard to imagine it working anywhere outside of London if big cities like Leeds can't hold a support group. However, I did mistakenly think that the last Leeds group would have no problems as the people running it were pleasant helpful and supportive and turnouts good at the start. Clearly it is an awful lot harder than it seems to maintain momentum once the initial euphoria of a new group has passed.

[MyNameIsTerry]

It would be nice to see the group going again, but if you read the old messages from the previous Leeds meet ups it was obviously struggling to get sufficient numbers towards the end. I would imagine any future group would stand more chance of success if it was launched in the spring or summer as cold damp weather and dark nights would be a complete turn off for many. It is always going to be difficult to get people with our issues to make it to a group, so anything that makes it easier for them is a bonus.

The original group initially met at Wetherspoons in Leeds railway station, which allowed people to travel in from the surrounding area and not have to spend too long anxiously searching around for the venue. Leeds is such a big city and the surrounding region does have a very large population which gives it an advantage in terms of potential numbers. It's hard to imagine it working anywhere outside of London if big cities like Leeds can't hold a support group. However, I did mistakenly think that the last Leeds group would have no problems as the people running it were pleasant helpful and supportive and turnouts good at the start. Clearly it is an awful lot harder than it seems to maintain momentum once the initial euphoria of a new group has passed.

There is a local charity in my city (S-O-T) that holds weekly groups at approx 6 locations. I went for a year before I joined NMP.

At Xmas there would be <3 people there but the rest of the year it would be more 5-10 people. Some people turned up only once, some came a few times and some people were regulars like me. Other regulars had been going for years.

Some people needed it more at certain times and some of us talked about how going weekly was more at the beginning and as you start to recover you need it less on a weekly basis.

Even if only 2 people turned up, the meetings went ahead. There were no commitments as they were walk-ins, just there if anyone in the area needed them.

You guys could co-ordinate it more to get numbers agreed but I just wanted to give you an idea of what a charity saw at the location I went to so you know it can work even in smaller cities.

[Tyke]

There is a local charity in my city (S-O-T) that holds weekly groups at approx 6 locations. I went for a year before I joined NMP.

At Xmas there would be <3 people there but the rest of the year it would be more 5-10 people. Some people turned up only once, some came a few times and some people were regulars like me. Other regulars had been going for years.

Some people needed it more at certain times and some of us talked about how going weekly was more at the beginning and as you start to recover you need it less on a weekly basis.

Even if only 2 people turned up, the meetings went ahead. There were no commitments as they were walk-ins, just there if anyone in the area needed them.

You guys could co-ordinate it more to get numbers agreed but I just wanted to give you an idea of what a charity saw at the location I went to so you know it can work even in smaller cities.

Thanks for that Terry. It's useful to know that it can succeed and in several different locations as well! I suppose the way to go is to keep it very informal and even if only two or three people turn up then it is still providing support to those members and keeping it open to future members who may come along at some point in the future. I think it is probably something best left until lighter nights and warmer weather though. I'm sure any meetings would stand more chance of success from spring onwards.