22 Dec HARLOW CHARITY RECEIVES DIY SOS BOOST WITH A HELPING HAND FROM HILL
Essex-based mental health charity Butterfly Effect Wellbeing starred in the recent BBC ONE’s ‘DIY SOS: The Big Build’ Christmas Special with help from five-star housebuilder The Hill Group. Airing on Monday 18 December, the programme’s presenter Nick Knowles and his team, which included stars from EastEnders, worked with volunteers from Hill and their supply chain to transform a dilapidated former caretaker’s cottage in Harlow into a state-of-the-art new community hub. The transformational project has since helped Butterfly Effect Wellbeing increase the number of people it can support from ten to 200 per week.
Founded by Angela Hannibal in memory of her mother, who tragically lost her life to suicide in 2020, the charity helps people suffering from mental health issues by providing a safe space to meet as well as organising groups and classes to combat isolation. Originally operating from cafes and church halls, the charity moved to a small Portakabin at Paringdon Sports Club, where they were able to help more people. However, the venue lacked essential facilities such as heating or toilets, or the space from which to provide their services at scale. They then gained planning permission from Harlow Council and agreed to a 10-year lease to use the vacant caretaker’s cottage at Latton Bush, so it could continue to provide essential services to the community. The site was in a state of disrepair and needed extensive work to make it fit for purpose when Angela responded to a Facebook advert published by BBC DIY SOS seeking responses from local charities in need of the show’s support. She was delighted to have Nick Knowles and an army of volunteers come to the rescue.
Angela commented: “Being part of DIY SOS and getting this amazing new facility is a dream come true. I was speechless when the big reveal took place. I’m so pleased to have done all this in memory of my mum, which allows us to help more people who, like her, find themselves facing tough times. Having a fully operational kitchen has been game-changing – we can now provide free daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner clubs. It is fantastic to be up and running in time for Christmas, allowing us to provide extra support to those in need at what is a difficult time for many people. Working in partnership with Streets2Homes, which supports homeless people, we are fully booked for Christmas lunch, and we are looking forward to welcoming more people than ever in the year ahead.”
After a public announcement by DIY SOS calling for local tradespeople to volunteer services in support of the project, Tom Hill, Managing Director at award-winning local housebuilder The Hill Group, responded quickly. Headquartered in nearby Waltham Abbey and already working in partnership with Harlow Council, Hill assembled various tradespeople, suppliers, and subcontractors to volunteer for the project and received fantastic support. Hill’s team of volunteers cleared the site before work could commence, erected hoarding, and helped with brickwork, landscaping, patio laying, and fitting a new roof. As part of the community wellbeing project, Hill donated one of their award-winning SoloHaus homes, significantly increasing the space the charity has to work from.
SoloHaus homes are purpose-built, modular, single-person dwellings created for Hill’s Foundation 200 initiative, a £15 million pledge to design, manufacture, and donate 200 quality homes to homeless charities and local authorities by 2025. The SoloHaus was specially adapted for the charity and installed, adding a spacious and welcoming new holistic garden room where health and wellbeing classes, including meditation, yoga, and holistic healing, will be held.
Tom Hill, Managing Director at The Hill Group, comments: “Successfully completing an important community project like this against the clock requires everyone to pull together, and I was delighted to see so many from Hill and our supply chain rally in support. We are acutely aware of the growing number of people facing mental health issues, not just in our industry, and it’s crucial that we make a difference and lead from the front. It has been a heartwarming project to be a part of and I’m delighted we have been able to offer our help to the Butterfly Effect Wellbeing, featured on BBC One’s ‘DIY SOS: The Big Build’, who provide incredibly valuable support to local people when they need it most.”
The ‘Big Build’ took place during October and resulted in a bright open-plan building equipped with a modern kitchen, along with meeting and activity rooms to be used for support groups and workshops. The new facility is surrounded by attractively landscaped outdoor space, including an allotment.
Run solely by a group of volunteers, including a psychologist who also provides services free of charge, the centre is now open daily, facilitating regular group and drop-in sessions. Additional paid-for classes are also now available to all members of the community looking to improve their health and wellbeing, and the profit will go back into providing free services for those in need.
Butterfly Effect Wellbeing works closely with the local NHS outpatient mental health team and is now able to extend the range of services it offers. They also provide a free clothes hub and food bank, and in the year ahead, they plan to start a gardening club in the allotment space, harnessing the wellbeing benefits of nature. Community events, including a Family Day in July and three holistic fairs, will be held in 2024 to help raise funds to support the charity’s services.
To find out more about Butterfly Effect Wellbeing, the support it offers, and ways you can get involved, visit: https://www.butterflyeffectwellbeing.com/
