Martin's story: “Porchlight let me know I had worth, even when I didn’t believe it myself”

Martin is one of our ‘lived experience volunteers’ – people who draw on their experiences of being supported by Porchlight to advise us about how to do things in the future. It’s led to him sitting on job interview panels and representing us at public events.

“Through volunteering, I have been convinced I have actual value,” he says. “I feel useful. I drive home sitting up straighter. I feel empowered.”

Martin has come a long way since he was first introduced to Porchlight. Back then, he’d undergone a heart transplant and had experienced a painful relationship breakdown. These life-altering events profoundly affected his mental health. He’d struggled to get the support
he needed, leaving him feeling dismissed and invisible.

Things changed when he reached out to us via the Live Well Kent & Medway network of organisations. Porchlight worker Natalie became a pivotal figure in his journey.

“It’s hard to put into words what she did for me.”

Through Natalie’s support, Martin accessed free therapy sessions, received help addressing his debt and slowly began rebuilding his life. After a decade of clinical depression, he began to feel a shift and started having hope for the future.

“I no longer feel suicidal or depressed,” he says. ”I wake up thinking ‘What shall I do today?’ It’s transformational. The key to my healing was people like Natalie treating me like a human and not a figure on a spreadsheet, like I had worth even when I didn’t believe in myself.”

Now, Martin volunteers with us to develop more opportunities for clients to have a say in how Porchlight operates, something he describes as “really empowering.”