Mental Health – The Society of St James

How Art Helped Someone Find Peace From Addiction

Lucy Potts — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:20:45 +0000

After fighting addiction for 25 years, a person who we support describes how art has helped them to move past addiction and find hope. After years of relapse, the individual found abstinence, peace of mind and calmness through art. Today we showcase their work, and how using their creativity, through drawing portraits, has helped them to manage their emotions and in a constructive and safe way. They are now celebrating 8 months sober.

Finding Hope and Healing Through Art

Recovery can be a difficult journey, often filled with challenges, change and the need to find new ways to cope with difficult emotions. For many people, creative activities can provide a positive outlet and an opportunity to focus on something constructive.

One person supported by the Society of St James has found that art has become an important part of their recovery journey.

Discovering a Creative Outlet

After experiencing many years of addiction and periods of instability, they were introduced to drawing and creative activities during their time in treatment.

What began as an activity soon became something much more meaningful, providing a sense of calm, focus and a safe way to express emotions.

Art can offer the opportunity to slow down and become fully absorbed in the creative process. For this individual, drawing has become a therapeutic outlet and an important way to manage difficult feelings.

Using Art to Support Recovery

Recovery is about finding new ways to spend time, manage emotions and build positive routines. Creative activities can provide a constructive outlet, helping people to focus their energy on something meaningful.

For this individual, drawing helps to avoid boredom while providing a positive way to process and express emotions. By focusing on creating portraits, they can become immersed in the process and channel their thoughts and feelings into their work.

Looking Towards the Future

Today, portrait drawing has become a particular passion and an important part of their recovery journey.

Now celebrating eight months in recovery, they are looking towards the future with positivity and hope. While recovery is an ongoing journey, finding a passion for art has helped create a sense of purpose, peace and something positive to focus on each day.

At the Society of St James, we know that recovery is about more than overcoming addiction. It can also be about rebuilding confidence, discovering new interests and finding opportunities to create a positive future.

Through creativity, support and determination, stories like this show that hope can be found in many different places. Sometimes, discovering a new passion can be the beginning of a new chapter.

To find out more about the ways that the Society of St James supports people to find new interests, reignite old passions and gain life skills through creative outlets, follow this link for The SSJ Academy.

Hampshire Recovery Sports Day

Lucy Potts — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 10:24:57 +0000

Mark your calendars for Saturday, 19th September 2026, as we come together to celebrate Recovery Month!

Brought to you by Inclusion, Recovery Connections Hampshire, the Society of St James, Intuitive Thinking Skills, B.More, Steps Within, and Ambition Portsmouth, this free event brings together local recovery organisations, and individuals from across Hampshire for a day centered on community, connection, and friendly competition.

Event schedule & highlights

Recovery walk: 9:30 AM Meet at St Mary's Church, Portsmouth. (walk starts promptly at 10:00 AM and heads toward the Mountbatten Centre).

Fun team games: Lighthearted sports, sack races, and physical challenges.

Wellbeing zone: A dedicated space to unwind, reflect, and recharge.

Team quiz challenge: Put your collective brainpower to the test.

Celebration & presentations: Honoring personal journeys, milestones, and community strength.

Whether you are jumping into the games, cheering from the sidelines, or simply looking to connect with others, everyone is warmly invited. It’s a fantastic opportunity to build new relationships, boost your wellbeing, and celebrate the hope and transformation that recovery brings.

Come join the fun, bring your energy, and let's celebrate together! Scan the QR code on the poster to register your team, or contact 07497879841 / lynsay.railtion@recoveryconnections.org.uk for details.

Our Mental Health and Wellbeing Support Service

Fahim Miah — Fri, 22 May 2026 13:36:11 +0000

The Society of St James offers guidance and support to clients across Hampshire and our services. With the main support teams being in Portsmouth and Southampton our mental health teams empower people to make positive change. Our team consist of clinical psychologists and mental health support workers who are passionate about providing quality, one to one support.

We use a trauma informed approach in order to facilitate long lasting change. SSJ work with individuals who are hard to reach and struggle to access mainstream services. At the Society of St James we bring psychology into the workplace to help support staff, teams and clients through individual sessions, group training, and reflective practice. This helps create a healthy and happy work environment.

Our Mental Health support service promotes self-confidence. This enables clients to build and maintain positive relationships, as well as develop resilience and emotional regulation. We help clients decide for themselves to take steps to change engaging in talks and rehab. Also, offering guidance to ultimately find a job and rebuild independence.

Mental health and Homelessness

There is a lot of links between poor mental health and homelessness:

Conditions like depression and anxiety can make it harder to maintain housing. Homelessness itself often worsens mental health. Many individuals have experienced abuse, neglect, or significant life events. This means mental health support needs to be trauma-informed. Some people use drugs or alcohol to cope with mental distress, which can create a cycle that’s hard to break without proper support. People experiencing homelessness are much more likely to struggle with mental health issues.

Key facts about our service:

Our mental health and wellbeing team have a total of 130 plus clients alongside 9 members of staff.
The team operates throughout the supported housing pathway covering a variety of different projects within SSJ.
The team will follow clients that have moved on from their accommodation to help support the smooth transition.
Staff will provide support during a crisis, provide intervention and signpost where needed. And give that listening ear making the client feel heard and supported.
In the last 3 months 256 1:1 sessions were attended.
Within the last 3 months The Mental Health and Wellbeing team have worked alongside projects to enable 39 Clients to retain their accommodation.

Our main focus:

The main focus of the service is to provide emotional support and reassurance to navigate change or overcome difficult events; seek to reduce anti-social behaviour and assist individuals to learn and develop coping skills to manage their mental wellbeing. The service will aim reduce anxieties and equip them for independence; build relationships and trust with the overarching aim of minimising mental health crisis and strain on emergency services.

The team identify positive change and signpost clients to relevant agencies offering mental health wellbeing support, mindfulness and activities; and increase level of engagement with mental health services and partnered agencies.

Our service is committed to providing mental health and wellbeing support that is grounded in key values essential to effective and compassionate practice, collaboration and respect. Our support is based on a holistic and person-centred approach, guided by trauma informed care, unconditional positive regard focusing on what works and working together to make our clients lived experiences valuable.

Can you help with a ‘Raised Plant Bed’ project?

Society St James — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 12:19:01 +0000

SSJ Hostel looking for garden bed donations:

Now more than ever, we are realising the benefit of being outdoors. Many of us have spent the past few weeks and months tending to our gardens and becoming reacquainted with nature. The same has been happening at one of our homelessness hostels in Aldershot, where service users have spent time creating a new area for plants, and it has helped to support residents’ wellbeing during this difficult time.

Sarah Johnson wrote for The Guardian about a community gardening project in London called Sydenham Gardens, she said: “Sydenham Garden is part of a growing movement devoted to increasing the role that gardening and other forms of “green” therapy can play in patient recovery and rehabilitation settings”.

The service users at our hostel in Aldershot are experiencing the same benefits as those in Sydenham, including increased wellness, a positive impact on mental health, and an overall good feeling.

CAN YOU HELP TO KEEP THIS GOING? Residents are in need of some much needed items to help them create a raised bed for plants as much of the ground within the garden isn’t plant friendly. One resident in particular, who has been positively impacted by the idea of a garden to tend to, wants to spend his time creating the raised bed.

We are looking for a number of items to make this possible. Please see the list below and contact Hannah Adams-Cox if you can help.

What do we need?

Raised garden bed kits
Topsoil/Garden soil
Plants of all kinds

Please be aware that any offer to deliver items requested will be in Aldershot only and cannot be accepted elsewhere.

If you can help, please contact hannah.adams-cox@ssj.org.uk