\n The Belville Community Garden gave Michelle Markey the courage and motivation to step outside her home and make new friends for the first time in years\n<\/p>\n
\n \u00a0Before 56-year-old Michelle started volunteering at Belville, she would barely leave her house due to crippling anxiety.\n<\/p>\n
\n Six years on, she volunteers every week, welcoming visitors to the garden.\n<\/p>\n
\n Michelle has generalised anxiety disorder and was referred to the community garden project by a local charity.\n<\/p>\n
\n The community garden works to support people\u2019s mental health by getting them out of isolation and into nature-based community work.\n<\/p>\n
\n Sharing her experience to mark World Mental Health Day on October 10, Michelle said: \u201cBefore coming to Belville I was scared to leave my home and I was constantly paranoid and frightened of what people thought of me.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cOver the years I\u2019d lost a lot of friends due to always letting them down and not being able to go to birthday parties or weddings. I\u2019ve also become completely alienated from my family.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cBelville has been an absolute lifeline for me. The garden club gave me a sense of purpose. It was something to do and somewhere to go every Monday and eventually I began to feel relaxed and at ease.\n<\/p>\n
\n Michelle Markey has been volunteering at Belville Community Garden since 2018.(Image: Contributed)\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI found myself enjoying the gardening and the people so much I couldn\u2019t wait to leave the house. Suddenly I had a purpose.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cBelville Community Garden has given me a new lease of life. I now have friends who are understanding and never judgemental. They have become like a new family.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n During the pandemic, like many people, Michelle found herself struggling with her mental health again, but Belville gave her a job to do.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u00a0\u201cI phoned people who were isolating to check up on them and lend a listening ear,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt was incredibly rewarding to be able to give something back.\n<\/p>\n
\n Michelle Markey, right, with fellow Belville volunteer Sue Harris.(Image: George Munro)\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhen my mum died two years ago the group was there to support me through this difficult time so I was glad to be able to support others in return.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cLast week we had an event in the gardens called \u2018pots of love\u2019 and I was able to plant a rose bush for my mum.\u00a0\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u00a0\u201cI get involved as much as I can, helping out with the gardening club and our weekly community meal. I volunteer as meeter and greeter welcoming everyone to the garden. If you had told me six years ago I would be doing that I would not have believed it.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhen we won the Queen\u2019s Award for Voluntary Service I got to go along with some of the other volunteers to collect it.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt was one of the proudest moments of my life and showed me just how far I had come.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Over the past year, the group has secured more than \u00a3167,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund to take their beloved community garden to the next level.\n<\/p>\n
\n With plans to add polytunnels, potato ovens, and fruit cages, the garden will become an even richer hub for local life.\n<\/p>\n
\n They will continue to host weekly community gardening sessions and expand their programme with exciting new events, bringing neighbours together, inspiring creativity, and growing both food and friendships across the community.\n<\/p>\n