Elaine, a service user and long-standing attendee of Alana House women’s community project, sadly passed away a few months ago from an illness.
Elaine began attending Alana House several years ago to receive support from our team. She made excellent progress through her one-to-one sessions with an Alana House support worker and eventually no longer needed individual support, but continued to attend Alana House groups such as exercise groups, sewing and the PhotoVoice project, which gave her the opportunity for social interaction and helped Elaine to sustain the progress she had made. After taking part in the PhotoVoice project she said she felt “proud to have been a part of it” and what she enjoyed most was “mixing with lovely people, sharing the experience and discussing our thoughts and feelings”.
Elaine engaged fully with Alana House, making the most of the opportunities it provided and was well-known to staff, volunteers and other service users. She was a joy to be around and staff have fond memories of her involvement with the project, such as her winning best dressed most years at the Christmas party and naming her pet rats after Alana House staff. Many other service users remember receiving a warm welcome by Elaine too on their first visit to Alana House. She will be missed by our community and the many people who knew her.
Elaine wished to give back to Alana House and instructed her daughter, Sarah, to sell some of her possessions to raise money for the project, setting her daughter the challenge of raising £500. In line with her mum’s wishes, Sarah did a fantastic job and managed to exceed Elaine’s target, raising a total of £625 to donate to Alana House’s work.
Sarah said: “I am truly grateful for everything that Alana House has done for my mum over the years. It really held a big place in my mum’s heart which is why she was so keen to give something back to show her love and gratitude towards Alana House. I was more than happy to fulfil her wishes in raising money for such a worthy cause. It was one of her happy places of which she had so many fond memories and made some amazing friends. Thank you for everything.”
Thank you so much Sarah for supporting Alana House and honouring Elaine’s wishes. We are so grateful to Elaine for her kindness and she will be missed by all those who knew her.
To make a donation to Alana House click here. To find out more about Alana House’s work, visit this page.
