From a Facilitator’s Perspective

I joined Battle Scars three years ago, and spent about a year facilitating face-to-face groups, gaining a bit of confidence (I had very little to begin with!), starting to find my feet. Then – boom! COVID hit. And all of a sudden, the support groups were gone.

Then – boom! COVID hit. And all of a sudden, the support groups were gone.

Then Jenny (she’s the Battle Scars’ CEO) came up with the absurd idea of starting virtual groups instead, just while COVID was keeping everyone pretty much confined to their homes. I call the idea absurd, because technology and seeing our own face on screen was not something any of us were keen on! With my issues with how I look, low self-esteem – yep, it definitely seemed absurd (and scary) to me! But I love Battle Scars, and I wanted to help, so despite all of that I agreed to lead a group with another volunteer, and Jenny was going to lead one too.

And so our virtual groups were born! It took quite a while for me to find my confidence as a facilitator. I managed to get my head around the tech side of things, with Zoom, but having to see my face in the groups was not something I got used to easily – I still don’t like it! It’s totally fine for service users not to use their camera, but I knew if I was leading groups I would have to use mine.

It was still early days when I began to realise that we were building this amazing community. 

Our groups took off though, and I was determined to keep up. It was still early days when I began to realise that we were building this amazing community. As the groups grew more popular, we opened them up to people outside of Leeds and soon we had people attending from all over the UK – it was incredible!
 
We added more groups to keep up with demand and I took on a couple more of them. I fell in love with the community I had been part of creating, a network of people who showed up to groups and never judged one another, only reached out a hand to support each other. The generosity and kindness of the people who attend the groups I lead never fails to impress me; every newcomer is welcomed into the groups with open arms by those who are present. I think the fact that the groups are very informal and relaxed really helps. There is never any pressure to contribute; nobody is ever put on the spot or expected to participate. Everyone who comes joins in at their own pace.

Most groups have their own topics, planned by the facilitator, but there are a couple of groups called “What’s Bothering You?” groups, and I lead one of those. It is a safe space for people to bring things that they are struggling with, to ask the group if anyone has had similar experiences – or it can just be a place for you to have a rant about something – and move on!
 
Two years down the line and Battle Scars holds an even bigger place in my heart, as I now work for them, as well as continuing to volunteer for them. We have built a wonderful, warm and welcoming community through the support groups – those who come seem to get so much from them; I know I do. We have also found that some people who have found the groups really useful want to give back – and so they become volunteers and start facilitating the support groups we have added along the way! It’s amazing.

Part of my role (a part that I really love!) is to work with the other volunteers, to support them to facilitate their support groups 

Part of my role (a part that I really love!) is to work with the other volunteers, to support them to facilitate their support groups and to be there for them as best I can. For me, one of the best things that has happened over the past two years is getting to see people start to attend our groups, then to watch them grow in confidence, to participate more, to offer support to others. Some of those people then tell me they would like to become volunteers themselves – and that, for me, is one of the best feelings ever! ​