Help one of our volunteers who is struggling

Hello, my name is Mark Healey and I'm the founder of the anti-hate crime charity called 17-24-30 National Hate Crime Awareness Week (1184819).

I need your help to raise some funds to help one of our volunteers who is really struggling to survive and who is living in truly appalling conditions.

They joined our volunteer team in 2017 and have been an amazing part of our team between 2017-2021, helping us deliver the April Acts of Remembrance, National Hate Crime Awareness Week and various other anti-hate crime activities.

They have always be open and honest about their past, they have struggled with substance misuse and poor mental health, but volunteering with us gave them a sense of purpose, a place to go and the opportunity to do something that helped distract them from their own struggles and develop a sense of pride helping others.

Their transformation over the years has been beautiful to watch and share, they were and are a valued member of our volunteer team and we have watched them transition from unemployment, through volunteering with us, to paid employment.

Anyone who has experience of drug misuse and poor mental health knows that life goes through ups and downs, there are daily struggles, and this year those struggles have been overwhelming for our friend.

Unfortunately they have lost their job and had a major relapse which has left them struggling to cope, including a brief stay in hospital.

When they stopped responding to text and social media messages I started to get really concerned and sought advice from the local police as I feared the worse. The police advised that things would move faster if someone paid a visit to their home address - which I did as I know they don't have family in the UK.

What I found was someone really struggling to cope. They had been without electricity for over a month (because they had lost their electric meter key) hence their methods of communication had been cut off, and they were/are living in truly appalling conditions.

I am going to do everything that I can to help them but there is only so much that I can do - which is why I am asking for people to help.

I've already sorted out a replacement meter key, but I need some funds to make sure my friend has access to electricity whilst we work together to sort his home out and get him connected to the support he needs.

I'm hoping that you can help me raise enough to replace his bed (it is broken and he needs a new mattress), his fridge (it is black with mould), his oven (it is broken), some cleaning products (to deep clean his home), electricity so he can wash his clothes, and food (at the moment he is living off bread/butter and Milk/Coco Pops).

Working with him, and at times on his behalf with his permission - I'll be following up to ensure that he attends doctors appointments, re-joins a substance misuse support group, gets his Universal Credit, Housing and other support needs met.

As he has a history of drug misuse he has asked me to manage any funds raised on his behalf to ensure that they are spent on the issues listed above.

I'm not naming the volunteer because he has enough to deal with at the moment, he just needs help and support to get his life back on track. He is aware that I am setting this GoFundMe up on his behalf.

Thank you.

Mark