Delphi duo Jess Weatherby and Stephen Caddy took on The Great Manchester Run on May 18, raising a whopping £530 for The ARC.
The money raised will be spent on delivering services at the Manchester-based recovery centre, including launching their first women’s support group.
Delphi Recovery Co-ordinator Jess explained: “There are a lot of women in recovery who have experienced abuse. Delivering women’s only groups can provide them with a safe space to access support and meet like-minded people”.
The money raised will also go towards the community café at The ARC, which unfortunately hasn’t been receiving as many food donations. The extra boost of funds will help stock the shelves to ensure more service users can access the food they need.
Jess, who completed her first 10K run in 1 hour and 12 minutes, added: “I’m so chuffed with the money we managed to raise. It’s been nice to see the donations add up and it will really make a difference to those who visit The ARC”.
She continued: “There were so many nice moments and the amount of people out cheering was heartwarming. There was a great sense of community on the day, and it was great to be surrounded by so much positivity”.
Recovery nurse Stephen Caddy also enjoyed his race, crossing the half marathon finish line in less that two hours.
It wasn’t just Jess and Stephen taking on the challenge either. Three prisoners from HMP Manchester ran the half marathon race alongside them from on-site treadmills in the prison gym.
The Abstinence Recover Centre is located on Robert Street near HMP Manchester. It’s complete with a community kitchen, café, and group rooms, providing a welcoming and relaxed space for service users to seek peer support after leaving prison.
The community hub provides a warm welcoming space for people to grow and build a new life for themselves. They provide mental health and recovery-based services to help individuals aiming to become physically, mentally, and emotionally well members of society.
If you’d like to help, you can donate using the team’s Go Fund Me page for the next few weeks.
