Elaine faces her fears with zipride for charity

Elaine Fogarty, a member of the Mental Health Forum, received crucial moral support from fellow members, and said that without them she would never have had the courage to take on the challenge.

The Portadown woman travelled to Snowdonia in Wales to ride Velocity which is 500ft high and reaches speeds of 100mph.

She said, “People keep telling me I did something really courageous, and I guess I did… but it’s not the most courageous thing I’ve ever done.

“That would be getting out of bed on a morning when the darkness wanted to swallow me up and I was drenched with fear of having to start another day in a world that didn’t understand me.”

The forum is the official voice of the mental health service user community in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust and is committed to the promotion of mental health awareness and recovery-orientated practice.

Elaine recently presented the proceeds of her zipline challenge, £1,172, to Care in Crisis. Karen Moore, director of counselling, said, “The amazing amount of £1,172 raised by Elaine undergoing her own personal challenge is very gratefully received and will help Care in Crisis continue to offer caring, confidential counselling support.

“We see lives changed when people enter into a therapeutic relationship with a counsellor who is trained to listen without judging or offering advice. Counselling can support people to take responsibility for their own lives and make good choices, a recipe for good mental health.”