As a single mother to three young children and the main caregiver to her mother who has Parkinson’s Disease, Lely juggles with numerous tasks daily. When she first found out about her mother’s condition in 2021, she had little knowledge on how to care for her. At the same time, she was going through a divorce. The amount of responsibility and emotional stress overwhelmed her, and she eventually fell into depression. Lely found herself crying every day.

Realising that she needed to be stronger to care for her family, Lely sought support from Club HEAL, a social service agency supported by Community Chest. There, she joined Our HEALing Voice, a programme that aims to help persons with mental health conditions build on skills to increase self-acceptance, confidence and remove self-stigma. Through the sessions, Lely shared her challenges in life and her recovery journey, and was able to relate to the struggles shared by other members. At the same time, Lely received support from a Club HEAL counsellor, who lent her a listening ear, provided advice and guided her to recovery.

Today, Lely is recovering well and believes that it is important to care about herself in order to care for others. She hopes that her story will inspire people who are facing similar challenges, to let them know that they are not alone and to not be afraid to ask for help.

Find out more about other social service users that we support.