Being Alongside

Our Summer 2025 issue of Being Alongside magazine is out! (Click on the image above to read it).

After an introduction by our new chair, Dr Clive Timehin, setting out his aims for the charity, a short but sweet news section leads with some really good news about our Croydon offshoot and its recent rebrand as The Link.

There’s then a report on our 2025 conference which gathered under the theme of “Journeying Together”, at which we were delighted to welcome as our speakers Revd Prof Chris Cook, co-author of Struggling with God: Mental Health and Christian Spirituality; and Andrea Smyth, who is chaplain to London North and Eurostar for the Railway Mission.
In addition, we were honoured to have both of Being Alongside’s patrons in attendance. The report is accompanied by some wonderful photos taken by Ron Timehin.

Next, our charity’s administrator Revd Lucy Roose reviews Wrestling With My Thoughts by Sharon Hastings. Sharon is a doctor, and writes about her lived experienced of journeying through diagnoses of depression, an eating disorder, mania, psychosis and schizo-affective disorder, and how she has managed to make sense of that journey.

We then feature another frank first-person account of serious mental health distress courtesy of Ele Cushing, who writes for us about her terrifying experience dealing with postpartum psychosis, and how her faith helped her both during that experience and afterwards, as she now works in an organisation which empowers and supports parents, carers and children in the care system.

A peaceful interlude is then provide by our patron Dr Larry Culliford in the form of his recollection of a wonderful silent winter retreat in Kent, in company with 12 fellow workers in the health and social care sector. The photo on the front cover of the magazine captures the stunning 20-foot wooden angel carved from the remains of an ash tree, which is one of the attractions of the venue where they met — Quiet View near Canterbury in Kent.

In this issue’s follow-up on outcomes from our ongoing grant programme, we hear from Sara Crozier of St Andrew’s Church, Langley Mill, about a gentleman called Tony who, despite having a serious health condition, helped to set up a lunch club at the church, took a Being Alongside-funded Samaritans training course, and now works as a call responder on a mental health crisis helpline. Sara writes: “Tony is one of twelve people who attended the If it was only him that was supported by Being Alongside funding, then I would tell anyone considering giving to Being Alongside that every penny you can give to their grant scheme is worth donating.”

As part of our continuing series looking at initiatives with similar aims to ours, our editor Trevor Parsons finds out about the Be Well programme, run by South London Listens, in which more than 80 Be Well hubs are now operating in faith-based and secular settings alike, led by mental health champions who receive training and ongoing supervision from the South London Listens NHS team, as well as community organising training from Citizens UK.

And finally, we hear from Ben Wilson, who recently moved sideways into the role of the charity’s treasurer, and reflects on what we have achieved during the three years he spent as chair.

Our magazine is freely available to all digitally. If you would like to enjoy it in glossy paper form, you are warmly encouraged to become one of our supporters.

Around 50 supporters of Being Alongside gathered in Battersea on Saturday 5 April for our fourth conference in as many years.

Being Alongside’s patrons, Dr Larry Culliford and Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani pictured at the event

We heard from the Revd Prof Chris Cook, reflecting on the themes of his book Struggling with God: Mental Health and Christian Spirituality. Chris examined the central tension at the heart of Christian faith amidst suffering and pain, pointing to the centrality of prayer as a foundation stone for finding God amongst the stigma and challenges of mental health difficulties.

You can listen back to Chris’ address below.

We were also fortunate to hear from Andrea Smyth, Railway Mission’s chaplain for London North and the Eurostar. Andrea offered a beautifully personal and honest reflection on her ministry among staff and passengers, showcasing what it means to “be alongside” those facing mental health struggles.

Thank you to all who joined us on the day, and who responded to our call for new trustees to help bring new perspectives and energy to the charity as we prepare for our 40th anniversary next year.

Trustees and supporters pictured with our two patrons and guest speakers: (L-R) Helen Trout, Vice Chair; Lucy Roose, Administrator; Larry Culliford, Patron; Richard Trout; Rev Prof Chris Cook, Rt Rev Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, Patron; Michael Rothwell; Andrea Smyth; Rev Cathy Wiles; Dr Clive Timehin; Ben Wilson, Chair; Jamie Summers

Do you want to join us on the journey of improving the care offered to those with mental health difficulties?

We are looking for a new Chair and up to three new Trustees to help us on our mission to improve spiritual and pastoral care in the mental health field.

Being Alongside was founded 40 years ago to help promote a holistic approach to supporting those experiencing mental health difficulties. The charity has a Christian foundation, operating non-denominationally and working with local groups (both faith based and non-faith based) which directly support individuals by ‘being alongside’ them through challenging times.

Our primary activity is to encourage and support local projects, specifically drop-in café style programmes and befriending schemes, including through the provision of seed corn funding for new projects.

We are a small charity with around 100 registered supporters, and one part time administrator. Expenditure has exceeded income for the last few years, but the trustees have adopted an ambitious approach to using our historic reserves to support new projects which deliver our charitable objects in communities across the country.

We are looking for a Chair (or individuals interested in being a Co-Chair) and Trustees to help navigate the next stage of the charity’s journey, including taking decisions on future fundraising strategy.

We are particularly keen to attract trustees with accounting/finance, governance or fundraising experience, and hope to appoint new office holders from May 2025 for an initial period of three years.

Trustee meetings are held once a quarter, for two hours, usually in central London. While online attendance is possible, we encourage trustees to attend in person for at least two meetings per year. Trustees are also encouraged to attend occasional events organised by the charity.

While both of these roles are voluntary, expenses will be fully reimbursed.

Role descriptions can be downloaded here:

For an informal chat about the charity and these roles, please contact our current Chair, Ben Wilson: chair@beingalongside.org.uk.

Expressions of interest in the form of a brief personal statement (no more than 500 words) should be sent to admin@beingalongside.org.uk by Friday 28th February, or submitted via the Trustees Unlimited website by the same date. We will then be in touch with further details including opportunities to attend a trustee meeting as an observer.

On Saturday 5th April we will hold a half-day conference exploring the topic of journeying together with God and each other through life’s challenges.

The event will take place between 10.30am and 2pm at All Saints, Battersea Fields, South London. All Saints (100 Prince of Wales Dr, London SW11 4BD ) is easily accessed from Battersea Park or Queenstown Road train stations.

We are pleased to announce that one of our Patrons, the Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani will introduce proceedings, which will include a keynote address from the Revd Prof Christopher Cook, co-author of Struggling with God: Mental Health and Christian Spirituality.

Christopher’s book is described by the publishers, SPCK, as “a fresh, hopeful and scriptural companion for both those struggling with mental illness and their supporters, carers, and the church community who, like Jesus, seek to come alongside all with the practical and spiritual hope of a God who journeys with us in our suffering.” Copies will be available to purchase at the event.

Our second speaker will be Andrea Smyth, Railway Mission’s Chaplain to London North and Eurostar. Andrea will talk about the charity’s ministry offering confidential, impartial pastoral care to the railway community and passengers of the railway network – including those facing family breakdown, mental ill-health and bereavement.

As always, we will ensure there is plenty of time for questions, discussion and of course meeting others. Coffee and tea will be served upon arrival, and a light sandwich lunch will be provided to close.

While in the past, attendees have generously offered donations to help cover costs, these events have typically run at a loss to the charity. The trustees have therefore decided to ask attendees for a payment of £10 in advance (£5 for the unwaged) to help ensure that such events are sustainable into the future.

To book, please email admin@beingalongside.org.uk with your name and also make a donation for either £10 or £5 via the ‘Donate’ button above (we will match this up when PayPal notifies us of your donation). Alternatively, please send payment via an online transfer or by cheque. We are trying to avoid taking cash payments on the day.

We look forward to seeing you in April!

Our Summer 2024 issue of Being Alongside magazine is out!

This issue has a big focus on what has been achieved so far with your support through our £20,000 two-year grant programme.

Our chair Ben Wilson provides an update on the grant programme, and sets out the options for extending the scheme beyond its planned two years, depending on how the assisted projects have fared and on how our charity funds are doing.

After a print version of the report of our 2024 conference, the issue goes on to look in more detail at two of our newly supported projectse—Sunflowers Café at Freemantle Baptist Church in Southampton and Pippins Community Centre in Axminster, Devon—and we’re also delighted to feature an update from Sue Clayton of Arnold Methodist Church in Nottingham, letting us know that the mental health befriendly and support group for which provided seed funding back in 2016 is still thriving in 2024.

Our main “think piece” is provided by John Vallat, who shares his thoughts on the meaning and practice of “being alongside”, including the very handy mnemonic “ALIVE”, which helps us to remember some of the key aspects of how we can be alongside someone as we can journey together: Accepted, Listened to, Involved and Included as an Individual, Valued, and Encouraged.

Fr John Cullen offers a thought-provoking review of Lorna Tucker’s recent documentary on homelessness, Someone’s Daughter, Someone’s Son, which closes with a debate on how the phenomenon can be addressed in a holistic way.

Our new patron Dr Larry Culliford provides a feature version of the address he gave to our 2024 conference, in which he thoughtfully reveals how he learnt to become the person he is, and how he helped to found the Spirituality and Psychiatry group within the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

The retrospective theme continues as Jamie Summers offers reflections on his almost 30 years of involvement in our charity.

And finally, as part of our continuing series looking at groups with similar aims to ours, our editor Trevor Parsons meets Renew Wellbeing, the dynamic Christian charity which, in less than a decade, has grown a network of 260 wellbeing spaces and places where it’s OK not to be OK. (A special mention to any keen-eyed readers who write in to tell us which of those 260 spaces is currently benefitting from our financial support! Ed.)

Our magazine is freely available to all digitally. If you would like to enjoy it in glossy paper form, you are warmly encouraged to become one of our supporters.

Being Alongside’s honorary treasurer, John Vallat, is stepping down later this year after many years of dedicated service to the charity.

John’s departure means the charity is looking for a successor who can work with our administrator on the proper financial running of the organisation. The responsibilities are not onerous: we need someone to verify online bank transfers, undertake some basic double checking of certain calculations, and work with Lucy to produce our annual financial accounts and budgets.

No formal accountancy training or experience is necessary, though clearly it would help to have a head for figures, and proficiency and confidence with both online banking and Excel spreadsheets. If you know of anyone who might be interested in taking on this voluntary position (or you personally are interested), then please contact our Chair Ben Wilson to set up an informal discussion.