Our Stories:
Meet Paul

“I volunteered at DIAL about 7, 8 years ago when I was discharged. I have a long history of psychosis, I’m diagnosed with bipolar and I get manic episodes. I’ve been hospitalised on a lot of occasions. When I was in outpatients, somebody came along and talked about volunteer work and then they mentioned DIAL. I went along and I had an interview, and started doing volunteer work. Then about six years ago, a job came up to do two, three days a week for what’s called ‘permitted work for people with disabilities’. You’re allowed to earn the money and it doesn’t get deducted off your benefits. You get to keep it. So, it was great. I was doing work in food banks, talking to people, giving them mental health support, helping them fill in PIP forms and Universal Credit forms and all that kind of thing. Taking them to health assessments, taking them to tribunals. I’ve been doing that ever since. I must have worked, through the food banks in the last six or seven years, with three or four hundred people, easily. 

Everybody who volunteers for DIAL has a disability of one nature or another. Mental health, physical health, we deal with everything. But because we all have our disabilities, we’re all claiming one type of benefit or another, we understand the system from both sides of the fence. On the professional side of having to deal with the system but also on the personal side, what the person is going through. The crisis and the difficulties and the frustrations that they are feeling. We can come alongside them because we know exactly what they’re going through. 

DIAL has helped me as well. I got told by several people in the Job Centre that I was unemployable, that nobody would take me on because I’m too high risk for health and safety because of my psychosis. They told me I’d probably never work again. So, when I started volunteering for DIAL, I got confidence back. Kath and the team at DIAL were absolutely amazing. And then when they offered me the job, I snapped it up. I just felt so much better and it’s done my mental health a lot of good.” 

DIAL Leeds is a disabled people’s user-led organisation. They offer a variety of services and support to adults with a range of disabilities and additional needs in Leeds. They’ve received a number of grants from Leeds Community Foundation, including for a mental health peer support empowerment project. 

If you want to play your part in supporting brilliant local Community Organisations like DIAL Leeds, learn how you can support us, or reach out at info@leedscf.org.uk.