'Hearing Voices' group highly commended

The Hearing Voices group with their award at the Night of Community Stars event.

Members of Rochdale community group Hearing Voices were 'highly commended' at the prestigious 'A Night of Community Stars' ceremony in Manchester on Friday (21 November).

Hearing Voices was shortlisted for the Healthy Living Award against three other projects from around Greater Manchester.

The group was formed two years ago to provide support for people living in the Rochdale area who suffer from schizophrenia. Sufferers often feel isolated and find it difficult to ask for help and support. The group provides a safe environment in which to provide workshops, information and newsletter development.

Part of the work of the group is to help sufferers maintain an independent life and workshops focus on strategies which help them to deal with hearing voices.

A spokesperson said: "Members of the group have often been on medication for long periods of time and been under the care of statutory bodies - to be able to enter an environment that is friendly and reassuring is extremely important to them. Following the success of the original group in Rochdale the group is now looking to extend its services to Littleborough and Heywood."

A Night of Community Stars is an annual event organised by local charity and grant maker the Community Foundation for Greater Manchester. The event is designed to celebrate the hard work and success of volunteers and community groups all around the region.

The event welcomes more than 500 people from across the region including distinguished guests such as the Lord Mayor of Manchester, Mayors from all Greater Manchester boroughs and the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester.

Nick Massey from the Community Foundation commented: “This group is shining proof that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things simply by caring enough to get involved, and developing innovative solutions to cater for local needs."