Welcome to Stable Lives Fundraising Page! 

We’re delighted to have you on-board! As a mental health charity, we're able to respond quickly and effectively to those in need, often quicker than NHS services. We have 'saved lives' of adults and children who were unable to cope, supporting them in moments of dis tress and into their brighter futures. Children have been able to work through highly traumatic life experiences with the support of our team of horses and ponies who have had to deal with their own challenges and have been supported by the Stable Lives team.

We support children and families dealing with bereavement; Looked After Children and those in the foster system; those at risk of suicide and families impacted by cancer.

Need for courses and support is surpassing our capacity and we need to increase our capacity/ reach in five ways: 

• Provide more 1-1 equine-based and mounted-activity child courses for school- aged children who are unable to access support due to long wait times of key services.
• Double our capacity for adult mental health courses including those most vulnerable (stuck, unable to improve/ suicide prevention).
• Provide respite days for adults and children dealing with bereavement or families impacted by cancer.
• Continue to grow  the Youth Group's reach to support more of those in our community - providing early support and mentorship.
• Use equestrian sport to inspire children and young people to get active both to increase fitness, improve mental health and gain social experience and confidence.

All of the above are aiming to improve mental health and well-being of those who are on the courses or connected to the participant. Stable Lives looks to offer help and support not just in the short-term, but as long as is required.

Support for Children 

Children are referred to us for a vast array of reasons. Bereavement, bullying, family or social trauma are all common reasons. When children attend, they come on a 1:1 course and their time with us is tailored according to their needs. The 6x 1hour course supports children by providing them with their own pony. Over the weeks, they build their relationship with their pony, learning about horse and stable management and learning how to ride their given pony.

They develop confidence, self-esteem and self-worth with specific workshops to improve resilience and emotional control. Alongside riding, children also receive a British Horse Society certification which focuses on the behaviour and care for horses. This can be supplemented for those who are on a longer-term placement with us.

Below is a short video that gives you an idea of what a course is like:

 [Video Incoming!]

Support for Adults 

We support a wide range of adults based throughout our community: those that come may have been exposed to mental or physical trauma, may be dealing with challenges ranging from anxiety and depression through to suicidal thoughts and self-harm. Our group courses provide a safe, calm place where participants can rest and feel safe and have time to learn coping strategies and begin to work towards a future of hope and stability. Again, adults work with a given pony to develop a relationship with them and understand the challenges they have overcome. As well as riding their ponies, adults take part in ‘Join Up’. This supports participants to take control of their adversities and through the horses, see a way forward.

Respite Days 

Respite days are particularly focused on enabling children who may be facing significant financial and social challenges to come and enjoy our ponies. They learn how to ride, how to look after their ponies and how to have fun in the outdoors through a range of equine and craft.

Youth Group

Our newly formed Youth Group aims to keep children mentally and physically healthy and resilient. The participants are fromlocal schools and often have been on a course previously. We hope to, with this newly established group, introduce and encourage our youth to take up a wide range of sports, from football to cricket, table tennis to badminton. However, as a brand new youth group, created due to the significant need in our area, we don't have the sports equipment to enable us to do this. We would also like to begin to reach out to others in the community and believe that sport is one of the key elements of outreach that could be possible.

More about us: 

All of our services are free at the point of access for those who made need support and this is why we need funding to continue to support those in need. We believe that sport, outdoor activities, good food and friendship are essential to recovering from mental health challenges.  Our team are made up of hugely experienced and motivated people from backgrounds of elite sport through to education and social care. We are a small but mighty charity who are saving and changing lives on a weekly basis.

What does a session look like at the Stables?

Each individual session is uniquely bespoke to each child. This means we are able to personalise the messages each week to help them to make progress towards their targets and goals. Children will ride their pony, take care of them through grroming and learn about key themes each week from self-care to managing emotions. Each week the contact time with their pony grows and they are always welcome to come back and visit after their 6-week course.

Why do we need the support and funding? 

As our community deals with the impact of Covid an a Mental Health crisis we know that sport and physical activity can play a vital role to make a difference in our community. We need greater capacity to deal with the demand required. We also have increased costs due to the cost of living and more people needing support; we must run new activity to meet demand, post-pandemic, helping your community to recover. 

What else we do:

Tough Mudder:

Each year, our main fundraising cause is Tough Mudder. 

Christmas:

As well as the above, each Christmas we also come together to provide support for our community in the way of our Christmas Nativity. This event seeks to find those in our community who would not receive presents otherwise, provide some Christmas cheer and hope whilst also introducing them to the charity in the hope we can support them moving forward.

 
How can you help?

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success! As much or as little as you can afford! The process of donating through this Crowdfunder page is simple to do and you can even claim one of our fantastic rewards! 

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!