WHY I
donated... ...to Mind. Sophia Badger walked from London to Rome in memory of two friends who sadly took their own lives and in doing so raised thousands of pounds and vital awareness around mental health In 2018, in the space of seven weeks, I contacted the parents of my friends two friends from different parts of and they were so supportive and glad my life – one from University and one something good could come from a I met travelling – took their own lives. tragic situation. Mind was taken aback It was such a difficult thing to that I was going to walk 1,300 miles process but I felt this instant desire but once they knew I was physically to talk about it and to do something. and mentally up to it they got behind I wondered if I could have talked to me along with my friends and family. them more and I decided that it was I decided to add on 134km and start important to start speaking about from home and on July 1, 2019 I shut mental health in a more every day the door to my flat in North London sense. I needed to do something and started walking to Rome! The to facilitate that conversation and route took me through France, across that’s where the idea of walking from the Swiss Alps and into Italy. London to Rome was born. The walk taught me so many things, Browsing in a bookshop, the title among them to explore places off the Via Francigena leapt out at me. The beaten track. But the most amazing subtitle was ‘Canterbury to Rome’ and thing was the hospitality I received being half English, half Italian, I was – from B&B owners, monks and intrigued. I realised it was a pilgrimage nuns and people who welcomed me that passes close to where my mother into their homes. I even stayed in a was born. I’d recently lost my French manor house, with an beloved grandmother eccentric lady who was and the walk felt like a still hunting wild boar way of reconnecting in her 80s! I always with a part of my felt like someone Mind’s mission is to make sure that heritage I felt I’d was looking out no one faces a mental health problem lost through for me and it’s alone. As well as providing advice losing her. something I want and support to empower people, it
Talking is the first step
to try and give back in my life. When people found out why I was doing the walk they were incredibly supportive and I was amazed by how many people shared their own mental health stories with me. I had a blog and was on Instagram a lot, talking about the walk and mental health. Some days were amazing, like the day I crossed the Swiss Alps into Italy underneath a bluebird sky, but others were hard. I tried to be honest and not sugar coat the struggles I had and that resonated with people. Walking into Rome I felt so many emotions – disbelief that I’d got there, accomplishment, but also sadness. I was enjoying the places, the people and the things I’d learnt about myself so it was bittersweet. Arriving at St. Peters Square, knowing where I’d come from, was overwhelming. I raised over £15,000 and I’m so grateful to everyone who donated and supported me. I never dreamed I could raise so much. It was the icing on the cake.
campaigns to improve mental health services, raise awareness and promote understanding. mind.org.uk
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