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Jim and Wenda - UK

In Their Own Words

They say opposites attract, and Jim would certainly agree, "If I want something done, I want it done yesterday. Wenda is so laid back she wouldn't give a sod if her bum was on fire! We complement each other perfectly."

Life wasn't always so harmonious for either of them though. "I used to be a miner" says Jim, "but they closed the mines down and my wife divorced me a few months later. I started drinking very heavily and I was having blackouts, crying a lot and could not concentrate on anything. In the end I had a breakdown and ended up in a psychiatric hospital. I didn't care if I was alive or dead." Although she lived in America at the time, Wenda's experiences of mental illness had been very similar.

Despite their troubled pasts, Jim and Wenda's story is one of hope for the future. As Wenda says, "Many people with mental health problems think they are condemned to a life of suffering, but your cash is funding projects that are helping them to realise that that they're not alone. With the right support they can live a full and happy life."