Our Stories:
Meet Tim

“Here, we reclaim areas of land that are being wasted and try to improve the gardens in the area. In some areas we work in, people might rent their house short term and they don’t have the time to maintain their gardens, so we try to engage more with local communities.  

I started coming here about 3 and a half years ago. I’d been a senior manager in the health and social care industry before, but I got laid off. I’d gone from working very long hours to having lots of free time. It was a bit daunting to be honest. 

Although I’d been involved in health and social care sector, I didn’t really know that much about mental health stuff. I only found out later from listening to people that gardening can help with panic attacks, which I’d suffered with in the past. These groups and activities are so helpful because there are all sorts of spin-offs like meditation groups, ‘mind, body and stroll’, there’s all sorts that can help with your mental health. They taught us breathing exercises to cope with panic attacks. 

Volunteering meant that there was some structure to my week and I have things to do to at the beginning, middle and end of the week. Before I came here, I didn’t know anything about gardening and now I’m a self-employed gardener, something I’d not thought about before, ever. 

Places like Hyde Park Source give you some breathing space really, and allow you to think of what you’d like to do in the future.  If I hadn’t of come here, I think my panic attacks would have got worse and I wouldn’t have found a brand-new career.” 

Hyde Park Source work with local communities to improve their surroundings, designing and creating attractive, exciting, safe and useful places for people to live, work and play. Their activities help to improve people’s health and wellbeing, skills and knowledge, and connection with their communities. They’ve received a range of funding from Leeds Community Foundation, including grants for children’s holiday activities and the organisation’s strategic development.  

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