Complementary Therapists volunteer to offer free massages and reflexology to local people overcoming
Sally spent much of her life working with people facing troubled times spending her early career as a psychiatric nurse, and now, as the owner and practitioner of On the Spot Therapies, she has started an exciting new venture supporting those that are currently homeless in Southend to feel valued and cared for.
Sally said “touch therapy is great for restoring dignity and helping people realise and remember their worth. Touch can reach people where other methods can’t and provides a much-needed opportunity for relaxation and reflection”.
Tracy, who volunteers alongside Sally, has overcome severe anxiety and as such understands how effective complementary therapies can be. She wanted to make sure that those supported by HARP had access to such remedies. Tracy said “it has been a bit of an eye opener, I didn’t realise how easy it was to become homeless. I recently met a guy that had an accident and ended up in a plaster cast for two months, and because he was self-employed he couldn’t pay his bills anymore. That could so easily happen to me”.
Being homeless is physically and emotionally exhausting and as well as providing some much needed rest and recuperation for those that are working so hard to rebuild their lives, Tracy, of Crowstone Complementary Clinic, said she enjoys spending time talking with the service users at HARP about their hopes and aspirations for the future.
Joanne Dear, Volunteer Coordinator at HARP said “we have such a rich array of volunteers at HARP that help with every aspect of our work. Tracy and Sally not only help our service users to improve their wellbeing, they also boost morale amongst those we support with their empowering message that anyone can make a living from doing something they love if they take the right steps towards it. At HARP we encourage all those that we support to engage with meaningful activities, re-visit education and old hobbies, and start to build a life that is fulfilling and enriched with positivity. If there are any more trained and experienced therapists that would like to get involved then I would love to hear from them.”
If you would like to get involved and help HARP support those that are facing homelessness in Southend then click here.
